A Girl's Best Friend
by EJonna
Summary: EJ and Nicole find themselves back in each other's orbits once again after a terrifying, life-threatening event forces EJ to examine what his life would be like without her. However, soon after reuniting for the third time, their relationship is once again put to the test when EJ's father, the always scheming Stefano DiMera, makes yet another attempt to separate the two for good.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Yeah, it's me again," Nicole said as she gracefully sank to her knees beside the small, grey tombstone which had, as of late, become a frequent getaway to the very heartbroken, soon-to-be former, Mrs. EJ DiMera. "I know what you must be thinking. 'What the hell happened to her? The Nicole I used to know was always the life of the party!' Oh god you have no idea. I mean, just when I thought I was getting my life back on track, here he comes again." She began to break down in sobs and retrieved from her metallic gold tote bag a large box of Kleenex. Already tired of resting on her knees and anticipating another lengthly visit with her dearly departed, she shifted herself into a sitting position facing the memorial, just one foot shy of the marble.

"I was stupid enough to take him back the second time, believe me there won't be a third," she said insistently as she threw yet another used up tissue into the small pile which had already begun to accumulate to her right. She slid her hand back into her bag and this time withdrew a small silver flask from which she took a few sips of rum. "Ah, see," she said, holding the flask up to show her other-worldly friend, "just like old times. Cheers!"

She took another few sips, staring sadly at the name of her friend carved in stone all the while. "Alright, well I guess you want to hear the whole story first, right? Well, OK so there was this guy who worked for Vivian Alamain and he like, completely flipped his lid. I know, I know what you're thinking...if he worked for Vivian Alamain it's to be expected, right." [Oh my god, thank god no one is looking. They'll think you're crazy, Nicole[/i]. What did she care? She needed to talk and she came to the only one who she knew would listen. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders then continued. "Anyway, so this guy is going nuts because he knows the police are onto him, so what does he do? He grabs me. Me! What did I do? Nada, zilch, nothing! So now, of course who happens to be there but EJ and he's there watching this crazed lunatic drag me into another room with a knife to my throat. So, to make a long story short...too late, I know...they managed to get me away, and I end up fainting into his arms. Well now he won't leave me alone! I told you all about what he did with Taylor. Now supposedly this incident has made him see the error of his ways and he wants me back. Maybe he hasn't exactly said so just yet because I think he knows I will just laugh in his face but honestly, I dont' know what to do. My head says no way Jose but, this heart," she crossed her hands over the part of her which ached so badly she couldn't imagine anything that was capable of healing it. "This heart wants so badly for it to be true."

Silence. She could never get used to not hearing the sweet little voice of her former BFF who could always be counted on to cheer her up when she was feeling her lowest. "You know, I could really use your advice, You were the only one in my life who ever loved me unconditonally, and who never judged me, and who would just listen to what I have to say. You truly were my best friend." She desperately tried to fight back the fresh set of tears stinging her eyes but it was no use. The began to flow freely as she broke down over the loss of her loved one. "Oh Pookie, I miss you so much."

What was once a full box of tissue had been reduced to a quarter of that amount in under half an hour as she sobbed uncontrollably at the final resting place of her precious little long-haired Chihuahua. She imagined she might have been there for some time more if she hadn't been startled by the sound of a rustling newspaper from a bench just a few feet away. When she looked off to her right she found an attractive, young, dark-haired man reading a newspaper. She quickly collected herself and her belongings and got to her feet. She was fully prepared to just walk away as if nothing had happened but then, the young man spoke.

"I hope I didn't startle you miss."

Nicole paused, She'd considered to just keep walking and pretend like she hadn't even heard but the man's voice seemed too kind to be so discourteous.

"No, you didn't," Nicole replied poiltely. "I'm just sorry you had to see that. Hopefully, you didn't see all of it." She bit her lip nervously anticipating his reply.

"Nah, just most of it," he said with a wink, watching in amusement as her face turned a lovely shade of crimson. "Seriously though, I owe you an apology. I didn't mean to intrude on your private conversation. I came here to visit my Buddy and I thought you might be on your way out so I decided to wait."

"Oh, where's your buddy?" Nicole asked, glancing around at the nearby headstones. As it turned out, "Buddy" and Pookie were neighbors.

"Yep, that's my Buddy. He's been gone almost two years now and I still miss him like crazy. Don't be embarrassed, miss. I like to tease but I guarantee you, within 5 seconds of you leaving this place I'll be doing much of the same. But let's make that our little secret. If you won't tell, I won't tell."

Nicole grinned and smiled at the handsome stranger appreciatively. "It's a deal."

"Good 'cause I'd sure hate for that to get back to the guys at the office."

"What? I don't have a clue as to what you're talking about," she shrugged flashing him a knowing grin.

"Thanks. Well, it's been a pleasure Miss-"

"Walker. Nicole Walker," she said, courteously extending her hand to shake his. She was already beginning to feel better as a result of simply dropping the DiMera name all together. "And you are?"

"Pete."

"Well Pete, it's been lovely. Enjoy your visit with Buddy."

I will, and Nicole," he called after her as she had already begun to walk away. When she glanced back over her shoulder he offered her a few words of encouragement. "We often don't know what we've got until it's gone. If there is someone on your heart that you love, don't let another day go by without telling them."

She forced a polite smile and nodded before turning away for good. He watched her every step until she was no longer within his sight, then eagerly withdrew his cell phone from his jeans pocket andcalled the first number programmed into his speed dial. His contact answered almost immediately, "Talk to me."

"Yeah, it's me. I have an update."

"Wonderful," EJ DiMera's voice boomed from the other end. "So tell me, what is my lovely wife up to today?" 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"You have got to be kidding me. He's already called you three times since we've been sitting here?" Chloe Lane said incredulously after listening to her best friend Nicole relay the entire EJ and Nicole saga which had taken place over the last few months over several strong cocktails, courtesy of the Cheatin' Heart. The two friends had attempted to remain in close contact since Chloe moved to Chicago to be nearer to her son but, due to Chloe's busy work schedule and an unexpected proposition from her baby daddy, Phillip Kiriakis, Chloe's life had left her little time to even squeeze in even a late night phone call and she was grateful for the opportunity to stop by and see her dear friend. Tomorrow night she would be performing in Cleveland and she'd insisted to Phillip that they make a pit-stop in Salem along the way so that she and Nicole could do some long overdue catching up.

As if on cue, Nicole's phone began to vibrate once again in her hand. With a roll of her eyes, she announced, "Make that four times."

"What the hell? Is he leaving messages or what," Phillip asked, leaning forward over the bar to direct his question right to Nicole who was sitting on the opposite side of his new fiance, Chloe. Nicole had been the first person the couple had shared the shocking news of their recent engagement with. She couldn't have been happier for her friend who spent much of the last year of her life in complete misery. It was soon after moving to Chicago that Phillip found that the Chloe he had fallen in love with many years ago was making a comeback. She was stronger and more determined than ever before to make something of her life and as a result, she once again began to pursue her singing career. He soon found himself falling head-over-heels all over again and had actually spent several weeks wooing Chloe into giving him a second chance. She only caved to her desires when she was certain that no matter where this relationship may or may not go, she would be all right. Nicole was so proud of her friend's new-found strength and prayed that she possessed even a quarter of her discipline.

"Make that now four voicemails and about a dozen text messages which I've already deleted without even reading."

Phillip reached clear across Chloe's back and gave Nicole a few, firm pats on the back as if she were one of his good guy buddies. "Good for you. The guy's a prick. The sooner you accept that, the better."

"Seriously honey, you know what I think? I think you should move to Chicago. You would LOVE it there. A fab chick like you is just wasting away in a crappy little town like this. I mean, sad thing is, compared to most of the men around here, EJ is the cream of the crop. I just think that living here is limiting your options. You don't want to wake up one day to find that you've just settled down with the first decent guy to come your way. You deserve to have that person who will swoop in and sweep you off your feet and make you forget about all the losers who came before him."

"I wish," Nicole said longingly as she swirled the olive impaled by a toothpick around in her martini a few turns before popping it into her mouth. "I don't know. Chicago sounds fun but, I think I'll stick around here for a little while."

"Well, if you ever change your mind, the door's always open. You could stay with Phillip and I until you find a place of your own."

"I'll think about it," was all she could offer in response. Truth be told, she wasn't about to give it a second thought. She pretended not to know the reason she felt compelled to stay. It was all she could do to help get her through the day.

About and hour or so and two more dirty martinis later, Nicole hugged Chloe tightly and kissed her cheek goodbye before climbing out of their car when it pulled to a stop in front of the main door of her apartment building. She gave one last wave and watched with a heavy heart as the car drove down the street and then finally disappeared around a corner. Still lost in a daze thinking of how much she already missed her friend, she was suddenly started by her cell phone which again began to buzz from within her purse.

"All right Nicole, be strong," she cheered herself on as she stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the top floor on which her apartment was located. She resisted the urge to pull out her phone to check the display, knowing full well the screen would identify the caller as EJ. She couldn't help but chuckle with disbelief when the message tone sounded shortly after the ringer ceased, indicating that the caller had left a voicemail. If her count was accurate, that was the sixth message he'd left for her in just two and a half hours.

She let herself into the apartment and immediately found her way to the nearest resting spot she could find. She sank down into the corner of the plush, chocolate brown sofa, throwing one of the beaded decorative pillows behind her pounding head for support. She wasn't sure if the sudden onset of the headache was due to over-indulging a bit in her favorite drink or more to the fact that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get EJ off her mind. Before she could make any sense of it, her hand found it's way inside her purse and retrieved her phone.

The text running directly across the center of the screen informed her there was 'New Voicemail.' She was sure it was the alcohol which caused her brain to cease contact with her body as her fingers seemed to take on a mind of their own and dialed her voicemail and set the phone to speaker before laying it down on the cushion next to her. Nicole sat there helplessly as her hands ignored every plea from her brain to shut the phone off and her ears continued to hear although they were given strict instructions not to listen.

The robotic female keeper of the voicemail informed her that there were "six unheard messages," then proceeded to play them all in the order of which they were received.

First message:  
"Nicole, it's EJ. Call me back as soon as you get this."

Second message:  
"Hi, it's me again. Look, just call me back as soon as you can. Thanks."

Third message:

"Nicole, please call me back right away. Look, I know that I'm not exactly your favorite person right now but I could really use your help with something. Thanks."

Fourth message:

"Hey, it's EJ again. Nicole, please, call me back. I'm really in a bit of a dilemma and you are the only person I know who can help me. Please, Nikki, I need you. You're my only hope."

Nicole sighed deeply and fished another throw pillow from the opposite corner of the sofa to cover her face with as she screamed into it in frustration. He sounded so sweet and sincere, almost as if the bastard actually had grown a heart. Thankfully, experience led her to know better. She believed he was sincere about needing her help, but not about needing [i]her[/]. You don't throw something you need like yesterday's trash, as he had done with her soul when Taylor came to town. Still, she found herself anxiously anticipating what he had to say in his next message.

Fifth message:  
"Nikki, I'm begging you, take pity on me. I promise you this is not some silly game. I just really, really need your help. Call me back, please."

It was hard for her to decipher most of the words of the sixth and final message. EJ's phone seemed to have been set to speaker, and although his voice was distant, it was quite apparent that he was yelling and somewhat out-of-breath. There were also a few other voices she recognized to be Stefano, Kate, and Mary, in the background and it quickly became apparent that there was indeed some kind of trouble at the DiMera mansion. Between the yelling and screaming and what she believed to be the sound of breaking glass, all she could make out was "Nikki," and "just get here as soon as you can."

Before she could even figure out how it had happened, Nicole found herself on the DiMera mansion doorstep. She was about to go through to formality of ringing the doorbell but before her finger even reached the buzzer, the door flew open to reveal a very disheveled looking Kate standing on the other side. Her silky white blouse was covered in what appeared to red wine stains and was torn on one of the sleeves. A quick glance downward revealed numerous runs in her stockings and the fact that she was balancing herself in just one high-heeled shoe. The highlight of the spectacle that Kate had become however was the way her running makeup seemed to perform the same visual makeover on Kate as the Zombie Booth app did from her phone. It took Nicole all of about two seconds to burst out in fits of laughter.

"Well, it's about time," Kate said throwing her hands on her hips, staring her down disapprovingly. "Let me guess, you finally drank the Cheatin' Heart dry and now you've come to raid our liquor cabinet."

"How did you-"

"I talked to my son," Kate interrupted. "Do you have any idea how irritating it is to find out that Phillip was in town visting with you rather than his own mother?"

"Wow, really? You mean hanging with me actually trumps the fact that he was with Chloe?"

By the panic-stricken expression on Kate's face, it was clear that she had just shared too much information. She hoped Chloe would forgive her for opening a whole new can of worms but she was sure that if her friend had seen a picture of Kate's reaction, she would have agreed it was well worth it. With that in mind, she used her phone to snap a quick pic to share with her pal later after she confessed to spilling the beans.

"All right, well I'm here. What the hell is going on?"

Before Kate could explain, Stefano appeared in the living room entrance, glancing toward the door to see who his guest was. "Ah, Nicole. I never thought I would say this but thank goodness you are here. Please, come in."

"Now I know something is terribly wrong," she teased as she glided past the two of them and poked her head inside the living room expecting to find EJ. When she found the room in a terrible state of disarray and no EJ anywhere in sight, she found herself beginning to worry. Perhaps there had been another episode with his head as a result of the brain injury. Maybe all the commotion she had heard was him having a seizure, or worse. No, if that were the case he would be at the hospital and Stefano and Kate would surely be with him. She turned on her heels and faced them, throwing her hands into the air. "Well, where is he?"

"He's in his room," Stefano nodded upwards in the general direction of his son's, and formerly hers as well, bedroom. "You need to talk some sense into him, please. The boy has lost his marbles."

Despite her better judgment, she began to ascend the stairs leading up to the second floor. She knew very well she was walking straight into another one of EJ's traps. She was quite certain that he was already aware she was on her way here, which explained the fact that there was no recent phone call when he'd been calling her consistently every half hour for the last three and a half. She imagined him sitting on the bed, grinning ear to ear as he plotted his every word and move as he patiently awaited her arrival.

EJ sat on his bed, smiling wickedly as the sound of Nicole's footsteps ceased outside his door. "Will you walk into my parlour, said the spider to the fly," he whispered devilishly as the soft rapping of her knuckles came from the exterior of his bedroom door. He quietly cleared his throat and checked the mirror to confirm he'd successfully wiped the satisfied grin from his face before innocently inviting her inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Nicole threw open the door to EJ's bedroom and froze in disbelief at the scene before her. She'd hadn't quite known what to expect but nothing could have prepared her for the state she found him in. It was odd enough alone that he was casually dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt but today, his choice of attire was not the topic of interest. It was the two, precious little long-haired Chihuahuas which surrounded him on his bed.

"What in the world is going on here," she squealed in a high-pitched voice as she ran to his bedside and scooped one of the dogs up in her arms. The adorable little pup showed her approval of EJ's guest by licking her all over her face and neck. EJ silently congratulated himself for a job well done, based on the smile upon Nicole's face.

"What is going on here is that Winston and Margaret," he said nodding at each dog when he announced their respective names, "decided today that they are the ones who run things here in their new home and, as you can imagine, that didn't sit quite well with father."

"Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. These are your dogs," she asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "I guess I should have known by the names. I mean, Winston and Margaret, really? Could you possibly get any more stuffy and British than that?"

"So what's wrong with being stuffy and British, hmm?"

[i]Absolutely nothing.[/i] she wanted to say. In fact, it was one of the superficial things she found so irresistable about him. She'd always had a 'thing' for men with accents, specifically Brits and Italians, and it was this weakness that perhaps posed the greatest risk to her sanity. It was nearly impossible to deny someone who knew how to turn on the charm and tell you everything that you wanted to hear, especially when they were speaking in a sexy, British accent.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with it if you're actually from England but, these are Chihuahuas! If you're going for ethnic why don't you try Frida and Diego."

"I still don't see what's wrong with Winston and Margaret. And so what if I want to give them English names, they're my dogs. I like those names because they remind me of when I lived there. I still do miss it, you know."

"Well, if you miss it so much, why don't you do us all a favor and move back. I can help you pack."

EJ couldn't help but smile, even though he was sure there was some truth behind her words. Life would probably be a whole lot easier for the both of them if he were to just up and leave. She wouldn't have to pretend so hard to despise him, and he might for once get a good night's sleep. Ever since the day in the police station, when Gus had taken her hostage and held that knife to her throat, he couldn't shake that fear of losing her. There was a significant difference between losing the one you love to someone else and losing them forever. At least as things stood between them at present, there was always the chance he might run into her somewhere in town. There had been several of these "chance" meetings recently, with a little help from his hired hands of course. Although she made her best effort to make a quick escape each time, the five minutes of her time he'd steal just to be near to her, to see her smile, was currently the only thing helping him make it through his days. At least, ever since he'd destroyed his own life by sleeping with Taylor.

The very worst part was realizing how much he'd hurt Nicole. He'd been almost certain that she was simply out to destroy him. She would wait until he was snugly wrapped around her little finger and then crush him with the revelation that her feelings for him were all a lie and nothing but retribution for him throwing her and Sydney out into the streets. The look in her eyes when she faced him with the knowledge of his deceit told him he couldn't have been more wrong. Unlike himself, she had been brave enough to open up her heart to him again and this time, same as before, it was he who had failed her, again.

Not that Nicole was blameless; she'd done her fair share of twisting the knife with her lies surrounding the truth about their child. For months after their separation he struggled with trying to wrap his mind around why she would do such a thing. Why would she not tell him that she had miscarried their child? Why would she shut him out and not let him be there for her emotionally during that difficult time? It was this question he'd asked of himself which finally led him to enlightenment. At that time, he hadn't been there for her. He was still struggling with trying to figure it all out. He'd been so certain he'd wanted a life with Samantha and their child that when Nicole appeared to have taken her place, he'd been so skeptical of his own motivations that he couldn't see clearly enough to recognize that all he ever wanted was now his for the taking. He feared that he was using Nicole as a placeholder when in fact it was the other way around. Samantha had been the one he'd been settling for all along. By the time he realized he'd found the woman of his dreams in Nicole, the damage had already been done.

For all that he'd put her through, one would think she wouldn't give him the time of day, let alone be showing up at his house to come to his rescue. It was a good sign that perhaps not all was lost, and EJ began to feel some hope that his plan would work after all.

"You don't want me to move. You'd be completely lost without me," he challenged her, flashing her his most charming smile, coupled with a flirty wink. "Just like I've been completely lost without you." He studied her reaction carefully but unfortunately it had the exact opposite effect to that of which he was hoping for as her face went blank and her eyes turned to stone.

"Look, why don't we just discuss why it is you called me over here? You said you needed my help."

"Yes, well, I was mentioning to father how it might be nice to have a dog around the house and it just so happens that Mary's brother is a breeder of the Long-Haired Chihuahua and she asked if I'd be interested, I said yes, so she showed me a few pictures and I just fell in love with them. I mean, how could you not, just look at them!" He pulled the dog that was resting at his side into his arms as if he were picking up his infant son. At that moment, Nicole wasn't sure which was cuter, the dog or her soon-to-be ex-husband but she still managed to keep any such feelings of fondness at bay. [i]It's all just a trap, Nicole[/i], she reminded herself, refusing to let the smile that the scene brought to her heart from making it's way to her face.

"They are absolutely adorable," she agreed, glancing down at the dog in her arms admiringly. "Of course, you'd have to know I would agree since they are the same breed as my Pookie was. You do remember Pookie, don't you?"

"Of course, darling, and that is exactly why I was so excited to get them. I remember very much how special she was to you and how she was so loving and loyal."

"Loyal," Nicole repeated in question for verification of the term she couldn't believe was falling from his lips. So loyalty is something that's important to you?" Her eyes grew narrow as she stared him down with such disdain that EJ immediately regretted his poor choice of words.

"Absolutely. Why wouldn't it be," he answered regardless. It was too late to backtrack now.

"You know, you are really unbelievable," she said as she began to pace around his bed, anticipating a rant coming on.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, if you want loyalty EJ you're mistaken in thinking it's something you can just go out and buy. Loyalty is something that you earn by demonstrating your devotion and establishing trust and, you know what? You suck at both of those things."

"Ouch," he said giving her a pitiful little pout although his eyes were twinkling with amusement. In his own twisted little way, he loved it when she argued with him. It was far better than the alternative of not speaking to him at all.

"Yeah, ouch," she said as she stared at him sadly, her eyes becoming glassy with tears. "Ouch is how I felt when I found out you were sleeping with my sister, after I'd given up everything to be with you on YOUR terms, so I really don't want to hear all of your 'woe-is-me' crap right now. I was there for you, completely committed to being the wife that I thought you deserved but, you know what? You're not even fit to care for these dogs, let alone be a husband or father because when it comes to loyalty, EJ...you don't know the meaning of the word."

For the first time since she came into his room EJ's smile began to fade. While he was still happy for the fact that she was even in his presence to begin with, a terrifying thought finally began to sink in. Maybe, just maybe, he had blown it with Nicole for good.

"I'm so sorry, Nikki. I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she put down the dog she'd been holding, pranced over to the bed and shoved EJ backwards, sending him falling into the heap of pillows behind him in his bed. Winston, the little dog he'd still been holding onto when he was attacked, quickly jumped out of his arms to safety as Nicole climbed onto the bed to confront her estranged husband. Common sense told him he shouldn't be getting a thrill over the fact that she was straddling his torso between her knees as she leaned over him. After all, she was clearly angry with him and this was not one of their little seductive games. Still, he was but a man and his nearness to the woman he loved sent shivers of excitement through his body.

"I don't want to hear that you're sorry," she screamed as both of her hands grabbed fistfuls of his shirt as she angrily drove her knuckles into his chest. "I don't want to you to call me, DAH-ling, or sweetheart, or Nikki, or hear anything else you have to say except for why the hell you called me over here so you spit it out right now, or I am walking out that door. For good."

"Alright, I'm sorry," he said throwing his hands up in surrender. It was obvious that any further efforts to work his charms would only have the opposite effect. "I called you because I need to get rid of one of the dogs. Father wasn't crazy over the idea of having a dog, let alone two. It didn't help matters much when Margaret over there got into Kate's Countess Wilhelmina samples and destroyed them. You should have seen the poor thing running for her life from Kate."

"Ah, I see," Nicole said shaking her head disappointedly. "well, how am I supposed to help you with that?"

"Well, I thought that since you have your own place now that you could take one of them."

"And I suppose that I'm expected to believe that this all happened by chance? That you just happened to get one too many of my favorite breed of dog and that this had absolutely nothing to do with my visit to Pookie the other day?"

"Of course. I don't know what would lead you to believe otherwise."

"Well, I can see that nothing has changed," she said as she quickly turned her head away before jumping off of the bed and walking toward the door. She couldn't allow him to see that she was beginning to cry.

"Nicole, please, wait. Where are you going?"

She took a moment to collect herself and throw a phony smile on her face before turning back around to answer his question. As part of her response which was to follow, she scooped up the little dog which had followed her all the way to the door and was now on it's hind legs, begging to be picked up. "Well, EJ...being the magnanimous person that I am, I will help you out of your bind once again and take this little one home with me."

"That's Margaret."

"Not for long," she informed him bluntly. "I, unlike you, choose not to be reminded of anything even remotely British so, I will think of something more appropriate."

"You can't just change her name. She's used to being called Margaret. I've already made it official on all of her papers."

"Oh, good. You can get those ready for me while I wait downstairs."

EJ watched helplessly as she slipped out of the room and he could do nothing to stop her. He wanted to call out and beg her to wait, then proclaim his love for her but his fear of being rejected seemed to paralyze every muscle in his body.

There was a brief glimmer of hope when she'd unexpectedly reappeared in the doorway but before he could manage to say, [i]Please, don't go. I love you[/i] she beat him to the punch by being the one to speak first.

"Oh, and while you're in the process of getting all those important papers together, why don't you find those divorce papers and throw them in there as well."

EJ sadly made his way back to the bed and sank down on the edge, burying his face into his hands. Winston was not having any of seeing his new owner sitting around moping and begin pawing at his shirt until EJ finally withdrew his face from hiding.

"What," he asked, looking down at the dog who was staring up at him inquisitively. "Alright, so I know that didn't go exactly as planned. I had to ixnay on the her moving back into the mansion business but, I'm not giving up, ok? I have another plan."

The little dog seemed to smile as he opened his mouth wide and panted in response to EJ's statement, his tail wagging a mile a minute all the while. EJ picked him up into his arms and tipped the little dog's face in his direction so he could look him straight in the eye.

"I'm going to get her back," he promised his canine companion with newfound confidence. "The both of them."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"That's right, you heard it straight. I've decided to run for mayor."

EJ watched with amusement as his father and Kate struggled to find words in response to the revelation of his latest scheme. He knew he had done his father proud when he managed to lead the reigning king and queen of scheme into a state of complete shock and awe.

"I see," Stefano finally spoke from his seat on the sofa with his loyal wife and partner in crime sitting right beside. "So what brought on this brilliant plan of yours, hmmm?"

EJ knew better then to reveal all of his motivations to his ever-skeptical father. Instead, he focused his answer only on the elements to which he knew his father would agree. "I want to do this for our family, my children. I want the DiMera name to be one they can be proud of." [i]I want to give Nicole the family that she's always dreamed of,[/i] he silently concluded to himself. It saddened him to know he could not share his determination to win Nicole back with his father. If he knew she had anything influence at all over his decision, not only would he have to put up with lecture upon lecture about how inferior she was to him, his father would strive to undermine his every move so that his plan would ultimately fail. Then, after he managed to drive Nicole away for good, his father would stand over him while he was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, mourning the loss of the love of his life, and coldly remind him that no woman was worth the pain he was feeling right now and demand that he get up off the floor and 'be a man.' It was not some wild imagination of what might happen. Sadly, it was a well rehearsed scene which he and his father had performed many times before.

"Elvis, you do realize the good citizens of Salem are never going to vote for you," Stefano chuckled in response.

"Well, they may not vote for me but, that doesn't mean I won't win."

The sly smile and mischevious twinkle in his son's eyes made Stefano a proud papa. "Ah, that's my boy," he excalimed boisterously as he arose from the sofa to give EJ a congratulatory pat on the back followed by a couple of light, affectionate slaps to his cheek.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say no one will vote for him," Kate chimed in as she joined the two men while Stefano began to pour a round of drinks for all three at the bar. "He'll certainly win the female vote. Isn't that how they claimed Kennedy won the election? Because all of us shallow females voted on looks rather than the candidates' positions?"

"Ah, well, if it were a nationwide election that might be true but, we're talking Salem here, Katherine. Every female in this town has had the last name of either Brady or Horton sometime in their life. No one bearing one of those names would be caught dead voting for a DiMera."

"And that is precisely the attitude that I am determined to change. This family has faced discrimination from the "good citizens" of Salem for far too long. It's time somebody in this family takes a stand and exposes these self-righteous people who have been running this town for decades for who they are; nothing but a bunch of corrupt Bradys and Hortons and their worshippers who frame innocent people like the DiMeras to cover up their own crimes."

"You know, the beauty of that statement is that it's not entirely untrue. A tad distorted, maybe, but accurate," Kate added matter-of-factly as she twirled a lock of blue hair around her finger. "The challenge for you my dear is going to be convincing the public that Salem's own holier-than-thou Brady Bunch aren't quite as wholesome as their TV namesakes."

"Oh, come on Kate. Think about it. Do you have any idea what kind of a stir this announcement is going to cause? Do you think the Bradys, or the Hortons, or Abraham even, are just going to sit back and risk losing control of this town to a DiMera? They are going to do everything possible to prevent me from succeeding. The only thing I'll have to do is sit back and enjoy watching them self-destruct. They may be able to sweep thier misdeeds under the rug when no one is looking but this is a race for political office. Everyone will be watching, especially the media, which are perhaps the only people on earth with lower morals than our family. They don't care if your last name is Brady, or Horton, or Kiriakis, or DiMera. As long as your name in print is selling their papers, nothing is sacred."

"Ah, Abraham," Stefano repeated shaking his head. "I'm afraid your sister is not going to be very happy with you for running against her husband. Are you sure this is the route you want to take to restore the family name? There is always another way, you know."

"Believe me I've thoroughly weighed the pros and cons," EJ confidently informed his father. "With every challenge there are difficult sacrifices to be made. I know Alexandra will be furious with me, no doubt but, she'll come around. If everything goes as planned, it will all be worth it. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said as he sat his empty glass down upon the bar,"I have several phone calls to make. Such is the life of a budding political candidate."

He quickly made his escape from his father and Kate before they could grill him any further. His father did have the rather annoying knack of being able to see right through him at times. However, like he said before, the statement that he was doing this for his family was completely accurate. He just never clearly emphasized [i]his[/i] family, which included, most importantly, the not-yet-former Nicole DiMera.

The plan was completely genious. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt there was no way she wouldn't come aboard. She was the only person in the world who loved Johnny and Sydney every bit as much as he did and, regardless of her own feelings about spending the rest of her life with him, she would agree that it was in the children's best interest to spend theirs with their father rather than their mother. Right there was another reason in itself for her to come aroundto the idea. She never shunned an opportunity to stick it to Samantha. It was Nicole who had demonstrated to him just how entertaining it was to push a few of Samantha's buttons and watch her wallow in her own misery. She also was no stranger to being ostracized by society. Well before she even became acquainted with the DiMera family she found a way to flip every nasty comment and accusation toward her against her opponent in a way that would do them proud. He could never understand how his father refused to see what a perfect fit she was to their brood of first rate liars and schemers.

These were the reasons she would agree to help him, at first at least, although he had no intentions of asking her for her assistance. To give her the option to say yea or nay would be a mistake, especially with three to go yet before he would make his announcement. Too much time in advance would give her the opportunity to decline, even if she were to initally agree. Basically, Nicole would find out when the rest of the town did that his decision to run for office would not be possible if it weren't for the loving support of his devoted wife. He knew his plan to lure her into his trap was a dirty one but, the important thing was that it would work. She wasn't the kind to back down from a challenge when she was put in a corner and enlisting her help for a good year meant that he had precisely that amount of time to convince her that everything he was doing was not for himself but, for her. For [i]their[/i] family. The Elvis John DiMera family of EJ, Nicole, Johnny, and Sydney.

He pulled out his cell phone and chose the "calendar" feature from the "tools" menu. He selected the date of September the twenty-sixth and entered into the memo field, 'The most important date of your life.' It would be just a few months from then until he realized just how prophetic that statement really was.

Kate obsevered with marked nervousness the transformation of Stefano's expression from pride and joy to sheer dread once EJ was clear out of the room. It was apparent that he shared the same suspicions as she did in regards to her step-son's latest plan. Still, she felt the need for some verbal confirmation and asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking."

Stefano shook his head disapprovingly as he muttered, "First it was a dog, and now, this? My son only gets these hair-brained ideas when there is some woman involved."

"Well, I have to admit it's a pretty ingenious plan and it would be an amazing accomplishment for the family if he is successful."

"I absolutely agree. It's a fantastic idea, as long as Nicole Walker is not a part of it."

"Well," Kate began as she played bartender for this round of drinks, pouring a glass first for her husband, then herself. "Between you and me, I think we can make Ms. Walker do a little disappearing act, if need be. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve that I haven't wasted on any of my sons' wenches."

"Katherine, you always know just how to turn me on," Stefano told his wife with a wink and adoring grin.

Kate smiled devilsihly in return as she raised her glass to him in a toast. "To victory."

"Yes, to victory. [i]Our[/i] victory."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

September 25th, 2011 Three Weeks Later

"Well, Lady, what do you think? Should I answer it," Nicole asked her pooch, formerly known as Margaret and now going by Lady, an alternate version of her full given name, Lady Margaret DiMera. Although the dog only stared up at Nicole with her wide, solemn eyes and hadn't made the slightest sound or movement, Nicole spoke to the pup as if it had offered a response with all the attitude of an entire LA street gang. "OK, yes, it's EJ and, IF I choose to answer it, I'm not going to say something stupid. He hasn't even called us for a couple of weeks so, I mean, it's gotta be harmless, right? My guess is he's just calling to make sure that I'm taking good care of you, don't you think?"

Again, Lady didn't do so much as blink and Nicole was already jumping all over the poor, innocent pup. "I know, I know, you're right. These last two weeks have been great for us. Everything has been really peaceful and we've gotten plenty of time to bond without any unwelcome interruptions. Things have been good so there's really no reason to go changing things up, right? If I take one phone call that will lead to two, and then three, and then before you know it, we'll be moving back into the DiMera mansion..." There was something about saying those words out loud which sent Nicole into a state of sheer panic.

"You know what," she said hitting the 'Ignore' button on her phone before stuffing it into her purse. "I think some fresh air would do us some good, don't you think?"

For the first time during their entire conversation Lady let out an approving "Yip" as she watched Nicole grab her pink rhinestone-studded leash from it's usual hook right by the door. The little dog wasted no time by approaching Nicole rather than waiting for her owner to come to her and danced circles around her feet excitedly until Nicole fastened the leash to her collar. In typical fashion, Nicole would carry Lady, rather than let her walk with the leash, until they arrived at the dog park where Nicole would bring her on a daily basis to make sure Lady got in her one hour of exercise for the day.

Once they arrived at the third floor lobby, Nicole was halted unexpectedly by a web of caution tape preventing passage into the complex's only elevator. The small handmade sign positioned at eye-level informed her that the elevator was 'Out of Order' and to 'Please Use Stairs.'

"Wow, that's rather inconvenient, huh Lady? Someone needs to tell management that there is royalty living on the third floor. You weren't named Lady Margaret DiMera to have to take the stairs like the peasant-folk." She reluctantly flung open the nearby door labeled 'Stairwell' and began the long decent down the winding staircase. About half way through their trip downstairs, Nicole began to grumble. "Lady, you better remind me not to go grocery shopping until the elevator is fixed. Looks like you and me will be dining out for a while."

When they finally made it out of the building, Nicole smiled dreamily as she deeply inhaled the brisk, early autumn air with just that hint of a chill which told you that soon the leaves would be falling and the days would be getting shorter...as was the opportunity to strut your stuff through town wearing the cutest little dress to show of your long, perfectly tanned legs. Still, although it was still just warm enough to wear one of her lighter, more summery dresses, in keeping with the latest fall trend, she opted for her new Betsey Johnson short-sleeved, form-fitting, purple sweater mini with a cowl neck. A pair of ankle-high, high-heeled, black leather boots and a studded black leather belt around her waist completed the sort-of 'rocker chick' look. She was always the best dressed bitch in the dog park by far, human and canine species both included.

Over a period of the last few weeks, it had become that going to the park was her favorite time of the day. Since things between her and EJ had gone sour, she hadn't done much socializing. She had forgotten how much being a dog owner opened new windows of opportunity for meeting people. Not that her good looks alone weren't enough to draw the attention of every man she passed by...it was just that when there was a dog involved, men who were otherwise spoken for would now have an excuse to appraoch her and make small talk without giving the appearance that they were hitting on her. Or so they thought. Nicole could smell a married man a mile away but she wouldn't dare to spoil their fun. Truth was, they offered her a much needed ego-boost after EJ had once again ripped her heart from her chest and left her to die.

She often found herself sitting on the park bench, fantasizing about one day meeting the right man. They would sit and laugh and talk for hours, until the sun began to set. Their topics of conversation were always different but one element of the fantasy always remained the same. NO matter how much she willed her next fantasy to be different, the man of her dreams, her 'Prince Charming,' was always EJ.

Today she was already lost in her little reverie when she first set foot in the park. If she had been a bit more attentive to Lady squirming in her arms she may have been able to prevent the chain of events which were to follow from happening. Perhaps it was fate that saw to it that she made no such attempt. Before she could stop her, Lady broke free from her arms and darted clear across the park, leaving nothing but a trail of dust behind her. Nicole ran after her with no hesitation although she didn't even know in which direction to run. She ran as fast as her four-inch heels would take her before they ultimately, and literally, became her downfall when one of the spikes became lodged in the roots of the humungous old tree which sat in the epicenter of the park. The last thing she felt before falling face-down across the lap of the poor, unsuspecting stranger was an incredible, tear-jerking pain shooting through her left ankle.

"My, my, my, will you look who the dog dragged in," the unmistakable voice of her ex-husband teased from above. There sitting calmly by his side were, not just one but, two long-haired Chihuahuas, one of which was adorned by the familiar pink leash. Nicole quickly rolled herself off of EJ's lap, feigning disgust all the while, and momentarily thought about getting to her feet. The throbbing pain in her ankle however suggested it might not be such a bad idea to take a seat for a bit.

"Figures Lady went off running to the tramp," Nicole said as she scooped her precious pup protectively into her arms."

"Darling, that's not a very nice way to speak of her brother."

"Actually, I was referring to you," she teased, attempting to conceal the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Already she felt her defenses weakening, and she hadn't even dared to look him in the face just yet.

"Well, in that case, darling, it's not a very nice way to speak of your husband."

She was set to remind him that he was her soon-to-be ex-husband, but she made the dire mistake of looking up into his eyes before she chose to speak. She was perhaps the only human being on earth who could read EJ like a book, based solely on the expressions in his eyes. Not only could she pinpoint an assortment of emotions, she could also explain to you the depth of each one. Right now the predominant emotion was love, overshadowing an even mixture of joy, concern, and regret with an underlying hint of melancholy.

If agreeing to take him back was only a question of love she would have caved long ago. She knew that he genuinely loved her, at least to the fullest extent of what he thought being in love was. She would also never deny him the truth of her feelings for him. She loved him deeply, with all her heart, and would continue to do so until the day she died. The problem was, just like the good ol' Patty Smyth ballad proclaimed, 'Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough.'

Their eyes remained locked in a gaze for what seemed to Nicole like an eternity. Every second spent staring into his eyes was an endurance test to her will-power that even your most disciplined athlete would ultimately fail. That said, very few actually possessed an inner-strength as unwavering as Nicole's. She also supposed very few of them had been hurt time and time again by the men that were supposed to love them the most.

"Sweetheart, are you all right," EJ asked with concern, his words jolting her out of her trance. "You really took quite a fall."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nicole replied nonchalantly, making every attempt to ignore the pain in her foot that not only wasn't going away, but was beginning to intensify severely. "Just twisted the old ankle a bit. I'm sure it'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Really? You're in pain? Which one is it?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine," she insisted as she attempted to get up. However, once she put the slightest bit of pressure on her foot she shrieked in pain and sank back into a sitting position beside him. EJ was immediately at her feet, prepared to assess the damage.

"It was the left one, I see," he said as he gently tugged off the boot on her left foot to reveal an already swollen ankle in a lovely shade of purple which rivaled the hue of the dress she was wearing. "Oh dear, this is not good. We've got to get you to the hospital."

"Oh please, I don't need the hospital. Just wrap me up in some bandages and send me on my way." [i]And whatever you do, stop looking at me like that[/i] she scolded him silently. Worry had now added itself to the checklist of emotions in his eyes in such perfect chemistry with all the others that it had created some sort of compound which was quickly eroding away the stone wall which protected what little was left of her fragile, wounded, little heart.

"No, this is very serious. You have right here a very bad sprain at least, my dear. You're going to need an x-ray to be sure it's not anything worse."

Nicole sighed frustratedly. "Ok, well just call me an ambulance and I'll take it from here. Anyway, I'm sure you have better things to do than sit here and play nurse with me. Especially considering you haven't even called me for the last two weeks." [i]Damn you, Nicole![/i] She was furious with herself before the words even finished parting her lips. Luckily EJ seemed to be more focused on getting her medical attention than he was listening to her useless protests.

"No, I'm not going to call you an ambulance," he informed her as he rose to his feet and gathered the leashes of the two dogs in his hand before pulling her first into a standing position on her good foot then, sweeping her legs from under her before her injured foot had a chance to hit the ground. "We are taking my car to the hospital and I'm not leaving you until I know that everything is just fine."

[i]...And I'm never going to leave you,[/i] her fantasy version of EJ promised her as the real EJ gently and carefully guided her in the back seat of his car and instructed Dave, his driver, to take them to the hospital. Late that next day, she wouldn't be quite sure at which point the dividing line between real EJ and fantasy EJ had become so blurred that she was no longer able to tell the difference but, her best guess told her that it took place somewhere during the five minute drive to the emergency room in the back seat of that car.  



	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Wait, no EJ! Back off," Nicole giggled as she playfully poked him in the stomach with the tip of one of her crutches. He'd just helped her from the car to the curb directly in front of the entrance to her apartment building and was now, once again, insisting he carry her inside. "Look, I need to learn how to walk with these things for the next few weeks, I can't just wait for you to carry me everywhere I need to go."

"All right," he hesitantly agreed, throwing his hands up in surrender as to ward off another attack. "Just promise me if it gets to be too much you'll let me know."

"I'm sure I can handle the short walk from here to the...Oh no." She slumped over her crutches and began to laugh nervously.

"What's the matter? Is everything all right?" Certain that something was hurting her, he threw an arm around her waist for support.

She squinted her eyes tightly shut and shook her head frantically from side to side. "No, everything is not all right. That is, unless they managed to repair the elevator while I was gone."

"Ah, broken down elevator. Yes, I see how that could be a problem. Good thing I have a rather simple solution." He couldn't help but smile at the prospect of one of his wishes coming true.

"No," she whipped around and stared him, wide-eyed, directly in his face. "For the eleventy-seventh time I am not going back to that mansion!"

"Sweetheart, look, I know you have reservations about us getting back together-"

"Reservations," Nicole asked with a raised eyebrow. ""You make it sound like I was actually considering it. "We are not getting back together, period."

"Will you let me finish, please." EJ could help but smile at Nicole's futile attempts to resist him. Her words meant nothing to him as her eyes clearly gave away her true feelings on the matter. It was only a matter of time before the words he'd been longing to hear came rolling from her tongue.

A nod from Nicole gave him permission to continue. "Look, I just thought that being at the mansion would make things much easier on you. You wouldn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning, or taking care of Lady. I know for a fact that Mary would see to it herself that you were well taken care of. She's always been so fond of you."

"Well, you could just allow Mary to come and take care of me here at my place for a little bit."

"Really? You must realize how well that would go over with father."

"Then, if you care so much about my well-being, you will respect my wishes to stay in my own home and you can hire somebody to come take care of me."

"Well it would take quite a bit of time to find the right person. I don't let just anybody care for the people I love, you know." He couldn't resist the urge to cup her face in his hand and softly carress her cheek with his thumb. To his delight, she didn't resist him. "Besides, why would you want me to do that when the perfect candidate is already ready and willing to take on the job?"

"What do you mean? I thought Mary was out of the question so who else is there?" His warm, brilliant, smile told her the answer before he could open his mouth to speak.

"I could come and stay with you. Look, I promise I would be on my best behavior and then this way, when you're through with me, you can just tell me to leave and then, if I don't, I'm sure the Salem PD would be more than happy to show up and escort me out."

"I'll think about it." She was proud of herself for remaining strong, her mind defeating her heart in the battle for which one she would allow to answer his proposition. If she'd sided with her heart, she would already be back at the mansion. Her challenge now was seeing if she could survive an endurance test. "Why don't you come up for a little bit and then I'll give you my answer."

"Fair enough." He wanted so badly to lean down and kiss her at that very moment but right now it would be too much of a risk. He didn't want to be thrown out before he even made it into her apartment. Instead, he grabbed Lady from the car and the bag of supplies he'd picked up from the pharmacy on their way back to Nicole's place and followed closely at her side as she slowly and awkwardly made her way into the building on her crutches.

Once they made it inside the lobby, EJ made one last plea for her to come and stay at the mansion when it was apparent that elevator was still out of service. However, Nicole once again flatly refused.

"You're actually going to make me carry you up three flights of stairs? "

"You betcha," Nicole said, smiling wickedly as she sank down onto a nearby bench. "Of course you should probably take Lady up first, and these" she said as she handed over to him first the keys to her apartment, then her crutches.

"Of course, Darling," EJ playfully snipped back at her, feigning annoyance. Truth be told, he would gladly carry her, and her little dog too, up all 103 flights of stairs in the Sears Tower if it meant spending some time with her.

"K, I'll just wait right here. Hurry back, now," she called after him giggling as she imagined him rolling his eyes as he disappeared into the stairwell. She stared after him wistfully for a few moments before realizing what it was that had just happened. EJ had managed to weasel his way into her apartment. Yet another thing she swore she would never allow to happen. The most frightening part to her however, was that the warning coming from that inner-voice which at one time had been so loud and authoritative, was now a barely audible last plea for help getting drowned out by the beating of her lovestruck heart.

When EJ finally reappeared in the lobby, she couldn't help but chuckle as he panted a bit, trying to regain his breath. "Been a while since you've been to the gym, huh?"

"Well my cardio routine leaves something to be desired but, lucky for you, I've still been lifting." He proved the validity of the statement by quickly and effortlessly lifting her into his arms, a feat he had already demonstrated earlier in the day.

She instinctively threw her arms around his neck to remove some of the burden of her weight by centering herself to him, pulling her upper body as close and upright to his as she could. However, she wasn't sure if it was the momentum of the movement or if it was of her own, subconscious, free-will which positioned her lips within mere inches of his. Whichever it was, she really didn't care. They were fine being right where they were.

"Shall we?"

The warm twinkle in his eyes and the tenderness of his voice was enough to take her breath away, and all she could manage to do was offer an affirmative nod in response.

As they made their way up the stairwell, they never took their eyes off each other, and although neither one muttered a single word, they carried on their own speechless conversation. Although she felt compelled to verbally confirm that her own eyes were mirroring the very same story as his were telling her, to Nicole's ears, the only actual sounds sounds echoing through the stairwell were those of EJ's footsteps and their rapid breaths, brought on by the also audible, heavy pounding of their two hopelessly enamored hearts.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"What are you doing in there," Nicole shouted to EJ from the cozy spot on the sofa he had created for her, utilizing all of her decorative pillows from the living room's two sofas along with a few stolen off of her bed, before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Just getting a few things together. Be right there."

Although he was only a few feet away, his voice seemed so distant due to the layout of the apartment. She had chosen the building based primarily on the location, right in the heart of downtown Salem. Anywhere she desired to go was no more than a ten minute walk and she had great views of the downtown from her living room windows and balcony. From her bedroom she could see the park and had a bird's eye view of the building's swimming pool. A closed off kitchen was just a small sacrifice in comparison.

She looked down at her injured foot which was propped up high on a mountain of pillows and grimaced at the sight. It was even more swollen and bruised than the last time she had seen it just an hour or so ago, before the doctor bandaged it up and sent her on her way.

EJ finally emerged from the kitchen, his suit jacket and tie removed and his sleeves rolled up as if he were preparing to get his hands dirty. When Nicole realized what he had been up to this entire time, she began to laugh.

"Ice, ice, baby," EJ sang melodically to the old nineties tune as he raised the sack full of frozen water in the air and shook it, causing the cubes to clamor together like a bag of marbles.

Nicole couldn't stop laughing. "You mean to tell me it took you all that time to throw some ice cubes into a bag? And, really...was removing the jacket necessary?"

"What? It's rather warm in here darling, don't you think," he asked, dropping to his knees at the site of her injured foot as he ever-so-gently applied the cold compress, just as the doctor had ordered.

"Oh my god, not now," Nicole replied through clenched teeth. "That is one cold, mother-effing ice bag!"

"Yes, well this cold, 'mother-effing' ice bag is going to help that ankle heal a lot faster as long as you keep up with icing it like the doctor told you."

"Well it's not exactly making it feel any better. It kinda hurts to tell the truth."

"Precisely why the doctor ordered these," he said, extracting a bottle of pills from the pharmacy bag sitting on top of the coffee table.

"That won't be necessary," Nicole said waving the bottle away. "You know I hate pills. I prefer to numb my pain the old-fashioned way."

"Ah, you know I thought as much," EJ began as he swiftly jumped to his feet and disappeared briefly into the kitchen before returning in a flash with two full martini glasses, "Which is why I went ahead and prepared these. Here you are, madam."

Nicole gleefully took the drink from his hand, then patted the end table right beside her seat. "You can go ahead and set the other one down right here. I'll be getting to that shortly."

"I see," EJ said with a bemused grin as he dropped to his knees beside her once more, only this time he was right by her head. "And if I leave this other drink here for you, what am I supposed to drink, hmmm?"

She let out a deep sigh and pretended to make an attempt to answer his question profoundly. "You can just drink in the glory of being in my presence for the evening."

"I already am."

It was those three words which made Nicole's heart skip not just one, but possibly three or four beats...or at least long enough for her to think that she might have actually died and gone to heaven right then and there.

[i]Me too. You have no idea how much I've missed you.[/i] At least that what what she wanted to say. Instead, she rolled her eyes and playfully punched him in his shoulder. "Oh, stop! Here, have your drink. What shall we drink to?"

"World peace," EJ suggested straight-faced though Nicole knew very well that it was nothing but one of their little inside jokes and a nod to one of their favorite movies, Groundhog Day.

"Oooh, no I got it," she said bouncing in her seat and raising her glass in the air. "To the new Horton Town Square."

"Ah, yes which reminds me, thank you very much, of why I asked you to meet me in the park in the first place."

"Oh, did you actually ask to meet me in the park?"

"Well yes, darling. I thought you got my message, Isn't that why you came?" When she hesitated to respond, he knew he had his answer. Although he knew very well that she would be there during that time, it was only his back-up plan. He had hoped she would come to the park expecting to, and, maybe even be excited to, see him. For the first time that evening, a hint of sadness begin to haunt his eyes.

Nicole instantly picked up on his look of disappointment and attempted to soften the blow. "Well, since I managed to run into you anyway, pardon the pun, we can talk about whatever it is you wanted to talk to me about right now. Shoot!"

"All right." He shifted himself into a sitting position on the floor, placing his body so that his face was positioned facing hers no more than a foot away. He was about to deliver the pitch he'd been rehearsing in front of the mirror non-stop for the past two weeks. In fact, he had spent more time preparing for how he was going to win over Nicole than for the speech he was to give during the ceremony the next evening, announcing his plans to run for mayor. "Well, for starters, I was curious as to whether or not you planned to attend the dedication ceremony tomorrow evening and, if not, I hoped to pique your interest enough so that you wouldn't miss it for the world."

"A-ha! You are up to something, you naughty, naughty boy!" She leaned in closer to him, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she anxiously awaited more details. "You have my full, undivided attention."

"Oh, sweetheart you know the old motto of the DiMeras. Leave no stone unturned and no party uncrashed."

"Oooh, so what's it going to be this time? If it involves Kate and baking just please, give me a heads-up as to which brownies are the magic ones."

"I will do," he said smiling back at her adoringly. She made him feel so alive, so happy and carefree. She was the only woman in his life that he'd ever been able to just be himself with and, she had not merely accepted him for who was, she applauded his devilishness and embraced the DiMera lifestyle. They were truly a match made in hell. "In all seriousness though, this is not just about putting a damper on the Hortons' big night. While that part of it will be fun, I can guarantee, my goals are a bit more ambitious than that. What I'm about to do is for my family."

"You mean Johnny and Sydney?" She knew very well the pain he'd been suffering the last several months being seperated from his children. No one was more shocked than she was to discover he had surrendered full custody of them to Sami when they both knew she wasn't fit to care for a gerbil.

"Of course Johnny and Sydney are one of my main priorities. Right now they think their father is some kind of monster. It's up to me to change their perspective and, since I unfortunately can't get close enough to them to do that on a more intimate level, I need to begin by changing the way that the public views not only me but, the entire family as well."

"You know, honey, not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but that is a tremendous task you're taking on." [i]Honey? Did you just call him honey?[/i] As if that Freudian slip weren't enough, she found her hand reaching over to caress one of his shoulders as she continued to speak. "I'm not saying it can't be done but trying to convince this town that the DiMeras are on the same moral high ground as the Bradys or Hortons would be like trying to convince a blind man into getting a mirror. They just ain't gonna buy it."

"And this is where I need your support, Nikki, please."

[i]Yes, of course. Anything. You know I'd do anything for you.[/i] Those were the nonsensical words coming from her heart which were fighting for their chance to be heard, only to once again be shot down by her inner voice of reason. "What is it exactly you want me to do?"

EJ reached up and gently removed her hand from his shoulder, only so that he could take it into both of his and give it a tight squeeze. "All I'm asking is that you come tomorrow and see what this is all about.I realize asking you to step up to the plate for me is a lot but, this isn't just for me. I know how much you love Johnny and Sydney and how you've always supported my wishes to gain full custody of them. I'm asking you to do this for them. For all of us."

[i]Damn, he's good,[/i] she thought to herself as she stared helplessly back into his pleading, heartbroken eyes. He knew exactly what her weaknesses were and Johnny and Sydney were right at the top of that list. They were two of the people sharing a three-way tie for top billing, the third being none other than their father himself. "You play dirty, DiMera, do you know that? Do you actually believe that I have absolutely no idea what you're doing right now?"

"And what exactly would that be, hmmm?" His eyes twinkled with intrigue as he pulled her hand which was still within his grip to his lips and proceeded to plant a series of soft kisses ascross her knuckles. It was then he noticed that she was once again wearing her wedding ring.

"Don't play dumb with me, Elvis," she said, quickly yanking her hand from his grip. "This is no different than the last time you tried to sucker me back in using Sydney."

"Well, if you recall, darling, it worked, did it not?"

"Yeah, it worked," she replied, her voice suddenly being overcome with sadness. "It worked and then, once you got what you wanted, you got bored and moved onto the next challenge. That's the way it was, and will always be, with you."

"That's not true, darling. That was not the case then, and it certainly is not now. Nikki, please," he once again got to his knees and took one of her hands into his and with his other he began to brush her her away from her face so that he had an unobstructed path to gaze into her eyes. "I am so sorry for what happened with Taylor. Really, sweetheart, I can't even explain why it happened."

"Oh, I think I can," Nicole stated loudly as she once again yanked her hand free from his grasp and pulled herself upright into a sitting position. At this point, the further she could put herself from EJ, the better off she was and considering her limited mobility at the time being, this was the best she could do. "One word EJ, revenge. You thought, oh wouldn't it be funny to let Nicole think that she actually stood a chance with me after everything she did. Then, once she actually feels happy, safe and secure, I'll yank the carpet from under her feet, just like she did to me."

"No, sweetheart, you couldn't be more wrong. I-"

"Oh, really, why then," Nicole demanded angrily, cutting him off abruptly. "You say you can't explain but when I offer you my take on things you tell me that I'm mistaken so, obviously you have some explanation. Stop jerking me around and let's hear it or I am telling you right now EJ, there is no way I am going to help you out in any way, shape, or form, ever again."

There was a seriousness in both her tone and stare which warned EJ that she meant business. He had really hoped to steer clear of such conversations, at least until after tomorrow evening, but Nicole had made it clear that she was only willing to play on her terms. "Alright, but you have to realize that what I'm about to tell you was never some sort of ploy or conscious decision. I can't tell you how many nights I spent just trying to sort it all out because, truthfully, I really didn't recognize what it was that I had done until that day in the police station."

"Here we go! It's the old, 'I thought I'd lost you forever' soapy melodrama," she said rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest and threw herself back into the mound of pillows.

"Don't mock me, alright? It's true. It was then when it hit me how much I love you."

There it was. The three-word combo which delivered an impact so much greater than any other terms of endearment. Although there had been several other recent occasions when he'd used the word "love" when describing his feelings for her, nothing compared to a simply stated 'I love you.'

"I love you," he repeated, staring lovingly into her eyes, his own eyes becoming glassy with tears. He was amazed by how fearlessly the words he once had been so hesitant to share now came flowing freely from his tongue. The explanation was simple. What Nicole needed from him right now was truth and he would swear on the lives of his children that he could not have offered her a more valid statement than that.

Nicole felt the tears beginning to well up in her own eyes as her brain continously replayed the moment where he told her that he loved her, not only once but twice, over and over again. She began to feel dizzy as her heart and mind once again battled as to how to respond. It was too close to call as to which would win, and she only knew the answer when she heard her voice involuntarily reply, "I think you need to leave."

"Nikki, please-"

"Don't," she warned him sternly, raising a finger in the air as a gesture to silence him. "Look, I will come to the shindig tomorrow and I will try to help you get your children back however I can. As for you and me, I'm telling you right now, it's never going to happen, ever!" The crushed look which fell upon his face following her statement was more than she could bear. However, instead of jumping up and throwing her arms around him to kiss away his pain as she secretly imagined herself doing, she instead reached behind her and begin throwing the decorative pillows from the mound behind her in his direction as she screamed at him, " Now, get out!"

"I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry," he apologized, the sincerety of his words validated by the overload of emotion which caused him to get all choked up as he spoke them. He knew there was so much more buried beneath her reaction but he knew that, at this point, to push would do him no good at all. She did not know yet just how heavily the success of his plan relied on her participation and, just as he suspected, it was too soon to reveal all. Tomorrow evening he would put her on the spot publicly, backing her into a corner and leaving her no way to say no. Tonight however, there was still a chance for her to run and, although she may not have been physically capable of doing just that, challenging her to face her feelings now, before she made that public commitment, would drive a distance between them far greater than any actual measurement of time and space. "Look, I will leave if you really want me to but I want to be sure that you're going to be all right. My offer still stands to come back to the mansion and, if you do, I promise I will make myself scarce and leave it up to the staff to see that you are well taken care of. I really wish you wouldn't stay here alone."

"I'll be fine. Please, just go." They were the last words she managed to choke out before the tears began to fall. Luckily, she had managed to restrain them until EJ reluctantly had pulled the door closed behind him on his way out. "Oh god, what I have I done,"She said softly, sobbing as she listened carefully for the sound of his car door shutting, followed by the sound of him driving away. When the sound didn't come as soon as she expected, she grabbed her crutches, which were propped up on the chair next to her, and pulled herself up off the couch and hobbled over to the window to investigate. Sure enough, his car was still there. She watched quietly for a few moments as she debated whether or not to stop him by shouting to him through the window but the opportunity never presented itself for several minutes passed by and he still hadn't emerged from the building. She considered for a moment that perhaps he was just sitting inside the car but her well-trained ears told her that the car doors and never opened or shut during that span of time after her walked out her door.

She decided to do an investigation into the building corridor and, when she opened her front door, she was completely startled by EJ falling face-first toward her.

"EJ," she shrieked, letting her crutches fall to the ground as she attempted to catch him from falling. However, he quickly regained his footing in effort to support her and immediately wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her.

"Hi," he responded sheepishly, his cheeks beginning to redden from embarrassment. After all, it was because he had been leaning his head and arm upon her door that they both nearly ended up on the ground.

"What are you still doing here," she asked as she stared back into his eyes dreamily. There was no longer any anger or frustration in her tone. Why should there be? She never really wanted him to leave in the first place.

His initial reaction was going to be to apologize for continuing to lurk but he could tell by the look in her eyes that something had changed. She was happy to see him. "I couldn't leave you. God, Nikki, I don't ever want to leave you again."

"I'm really glad to hear you say that," she cried with fresh tears now streaming down her cheeks. "I don't want you to and I swear to god, EJ DiMera, you better not ever try to again!"

She gave him no chance at all to verbally respond. Besides, there was nothing else he needed to say. He had already presented his case earlier that evening. Instead, she told him everything he'd been longing to hear from her for the last several months without speaking another word at all. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss so passionate that it would make up for all those that were missed while they both had been so foolish. They both relished in the freedom of finally being able to express themselves without fear of frightening the other away. When he made his move back into her apartment, she not only made no effort to stop him, she embraced him further by wrapping her legs around his and then proceeded to reach beyond his head and fling the door shut, trapping him inside with her where he belonged. There was simply no case of her being unaware of him carrying her back to her bedroom. She not only welcomed it but inwardly lamented that they didn't reach her bed quickly enough. It was just after midnight, officially making it that all important date of September the twenty-sixth when they began to make love.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

EJ reluctantly drifted back into consciousness from the best two and a half hour sleep he'd had in a very long time, thanks to the incessant buzzing of his cell phone coming from within his crumpled-up suit jacket laying on the floor somewhere in the vicinity of Nicole's bed. He needn't look at the display to see who was calling; his father and Kate both were likely pacing around the mansion, anxiously awaiting him to return home so that they could go over some last minute details about tonight's events. He was sure they were both already livid at him for blowing them off last night but, what they didn't realize was that the battle, in his eyes at least, was already won and, he had a very content Nicole sleeping peacefully under his arm to prove it.

It was almost enough for him to just throw in the towel and forget about the whole, crazy scheme altogether. Nicole was back and there were other ways to establish his rights to the children. He could probably just call it quits right now and live the rest of his life a happy man with Nicole right there at his side. But that would be cheating Nicole. This time, it was about so much more than winning her back. For the first time in his life, he was thinking about what would make her happy, and how to make her dreams come true and he knew more than anyone that nothing would make her happier than having a family. Since they regretfully would never be able to have another child of their own together, he knew bringing Johnny and Sydney back into their home would be the next best thing.

He knew very well that he could have Johnny and Sydney back in the mansion in a matter of weeks if that's what he wanted. Trouble was, his children were being so poisoned against him, Nicole, and the entire DiMera clan by their mother's side of the family that ripping them away from Samantha in this manner would only validate all of the rubbish about him they were being fed and instill even more fear and loathing. If he could change the way the public viewed them, eventually, Johnny and Sydney would begin to question the Brady's prejudice toward their paternal side. The whole Brady Bunch could say whatever they wanted to about them and there wouldn't be a shred of evidence to back any of it up. It wasn't something that was going to happen overnight but, sooner or later, Johnny and Sydney would see the lengths that the Brady family went through to keep them from knowing their father, all because he chose another woman over their mother. At least that's the way he and Nicole would play it. The god's honest truth was that Johnny and Sydney were far better off with him and Nicole. If they had to stretch the truth just a little bit to build their happy home, so be it. The beauty of it was, he knew Nicole would feel exactly the same way and embrace this challenge...which was why, as much as he would have loved to stay in bed and snuggle with his beautiful wife, he finally gave into the beckoning of his phone and crawled out of bed.

'17 New Voicemail,' the display on his phone informed him. A quick check of the 'Missed Calls' log informed him the the majority of them were likely from Kate, as ninety percent of the fifty-two total missed calls came from her number. The very first day he announced his plans to run for office, Kate had decided to elect herself as his campaign manager. Not that he ever listened to a single word she said; he merely went along with it to keep her out of his hair. It was the only way to deal with her, or his father, for that matter. Resisting was the worst thing that one could do. It was better to let them have the illusion of being in control than to remind them that they were not. It was the only method of dealing with a control-freak, at least that he was aware of.

It was pointless to even bother returning calls. He had already began to dress and could be out the door and back home in twenty minutes or so; five minutes for the ride back home, and fifteen just kissing Nicole goodbye. He slipped back down on the bed behind her and began kissing her face softly right near her ear.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he whispered lovingly in her ear before proceeding to plant a few dozen more kisses all about her face and neck. A little smile played across her lips from EJ's onslaught of kisses but even that hadn't been enough to completely stir her from her sleep. He didn't have the heart to wake her up so soon just to see him off. Besides, the longer she could be off her ankle, the better. With that in mind, he carefully pulled up the sheets to assess the damage, morning after and was pleased to see that although the bruising was worse, the swelling had gone down considerably.

He frowned at the thought of having to leave her like this but, it wouldn't be for long. He didn't care what his father or Kate had to say about it, He would send Mary over as soon as possible to help her get around for a few hours until he was able to make it back to escort her to the celebration himself. After all, he was only a phone call away if she needed a thing and likewise, he could phone in his quarter hour check-ups and 'I just called to say I love you' memos all day long. It was only for one more day, at least he hoped. Discussing their living arrangement was next on his to-do list and considering how things stood between them at present, he didn't see any reason why either one of them would be spending another night alone in their beds. Getting Nicole to agree to move back into the mansion could be tricky but the solution to him was a no-brainer. He didn't care where he lived as long as it was with her.

"I'll see you soon, sweetheart," were his parting words as he gave her one more peck on the cheek before climbing off the bed and searching the floor for the remainder of his clothes. When his dress shirt was no where in sight, he stumbled out into the hallway to investigate the rest of the apartment and found his feet getting tangled up in the sleeves of the garment in question. He smiled as his brain began to play catch up and recollected how just a few hours ago, he'd had Nicole pinned up against the wall right outside her bedroom door, kissing her ferociously as she hungrily ripped away his shirt from his chest, popping every small blue button clear off of his shirt in the process. He chuckled as he threw the shirt on and attempted to fasten the ghost buttons out of habit, then finally settled for tucking it into the waistband of his pants to keep it together.

From the corner of his eye he could see that Lady was sound asleep in one of the corners of he couch. He was prepared to take her for a walk to spare Nicole the trouble but at least Nicole was well equipped with what she referred to as 'piddle pads' in the event she was not home when her little pup needed to relieve herself. Hopefully Mary would already be there by the time Lady was usually taken out for her morning walk, in roughly another hour. He did however refill her food and water bowls and give her a pat on her tiny little head in place of taking her out for the stroll.

Right in front of the door leading out of her apartment were the crutches, lying right where Nicole had dropped them when he had fallen into her face-first. Assuring that the crutches and her cell phone were easily accessible to her when she awoke were the last items remaining on his to do list before leaving. He quietly crept back into the bedroom, pausing briefly for a moment to see if his presence would cause Nicole to stir and then, when he was sure she was still sleeping soundly, he gently propped the crutches up against her night stand, where her phone already sat within her reach, so they would be easily accessible for her. He hesitantly made one last attempt to see if she would awaken by calling out her name but, when she didn't respond he quietly exited her room and then, the apartment, altogether.

As was typical, Dave, one of the DiMera's drivers, was still in the car waiting for EJ in the very spot he'd left him in the night before. Like any other job, he took a break or two while waiting for his employer to return, the most recent being a trip to the convenience store for a coffee and a copy of the morning paper hot off the presses.

"Good god, old man. How can you manage to be so wide awake at seven-thirty in the bloody morning," EJ lamented as he climbed into the back seat of the car which was already all warmed up and ready to go.

"Easy. Did you ever try sleeping in a car," was his driver's sarcastic response though EJ knew very well it was all in jest.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," he said semi-apologetically with a sheepish grin.

"You know your father has been blowing up my phone wondering what you were up to. You know I had to at least tell him where you were."

"It's alright David. The fact that I spent an evening with my wife needn't be kept a secret."

"I hope I'm not out of place to say I've always been very fond of Nicole. I hope the two of you can work things out."

"Thank you, and no, you were not out of line. It's rather nice to have someone's support for once. And, as you will hear from the phone call I'm about to make, your well wishes may very well have brought us a bit of luck."

He retrieved his cell from his suit pocket and dialed Nicole's number. As he both hoped and expected, the call went straight to voicemail. "Hi darling. Sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye but, I didn't want to wake you. I just want you to know that I'm sending Mary over to help you through the day with whatever you need and that anything else is only a phone call away. In the meantime, you stay off of that ankle and keep icing it, young lady. Doctor DiMera's orders." He couldn't help but chuckle recalling the many times they had played out a doctor/patient fantasy and hoped to pique her interest into possibly putting the popular bedroom scenario into play later that evening. "Seriously though, I'm sorry I couldn't stay or explain to you further what tonight is all about but I suppose you will see for yourself soon enough. I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am to have you back in my life, Nikki. Thank you for giving me another chance. I promise you I am not going to screw things up this time. I love you."

"I'm telling you, she is going to ruin everything," Kate DiMera screamed at her husband as she restlessly paced the floor before him with such ferocity that Stefano looked down at his carpet expecting to see holes worn clear through it.

"Katherine, have some faith in your old man, hmmm? Do you think I would let such a thing happen?"

"Our future is riding on your son winning office, not to mention the relaunch of Countess Wilhelmina. You know as well as I do that with Nicole around his focus will be on her and nothing but and he's going to blow it for us all!"

"Have we not been planning for this, this entire time? We knew this could happen, I thought that was precisely why you"re bringing in this matchmaker woman."

The "matchmaker woman" was none other than Patty Stanger, AKA The Millionaire Matchmaker of the TV reality show of the same name. Although Patty's claim to fame was finding suitable mates for wealthy playboys like EJ, it was Kate who provided the matchmaking service for her step-son this time. Initially she was sought out by Kate for her help but when Patty casually expressed her own interest in him Kate was quick to offer her blessing. Patty didn't need to know that EJ wasn't even aware of the date that she was so looking forward to. To the best of her knowledge, EJ was over the moon about it and that was all that she needed to know. All she had to do was show up at the ceremony, smile, and gush about what a wonderful catch EJ was just long enough for Nicole to get the picture that EJ had moved on.

"Yes, be we don't know what the hell went on there in that apartment last night! For all we know they're back together already."

"Even if that were the case, I can assure you, it won't last. Whatever they may have managed to piece back together of their marriage is too fragile to withstand the blow that is in store for them."

"You've already got something else up your sleeve, don't you?" Kate's eyes lit up with curiosity as she pondered the many possibilities.

"Believe me, the minute I heard who he was with I made some calls. After tonight, Nicole is not going to be a problem."

"Ooooh, tell me what you're going to do with her? Send her away to some deserted island? Seal her up in one of the tunnels?"

"And what? Miss out on all of the fun watching her fall to pieces at the gala? Let's just say that the ruin of Elvis and Nicole will be due to a good, old-fashioned communication breakdown. Last night my technical genius rigged their phones so that whenever they call each other, the call is unknowingly rerouted to another line which has a recording of their voicemail messages. They'll be leaving messages for each other all day long that they'll never get a chance to hear. It's brilliant."

"It is brilliant but, do you really think a few missed phone calls is enough to keep Nicole away?"

"I don't think, Katherine, I know. Just sit back my dear and enjoy the show."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Nicole awoke to the sensation of something cold and moist tickling her cheek. When she popped one eye open to investigste, she found Lady hovering about her head with her front paws on the pillow, anxiously awaiting her arisal.

"You know, you're lucky you're cute," Nicole said groggily as she reached over and gave her faithful friend a scratch on the head. "Otherwise, I'd be locking you outside the bedroom door so I could go back to sleep."

The little dog let out a loud yip in protest to her statement. Nicole pulled herself up into a sitting position and carefully tucked the sheets under her arms to cover her bare chest in respect for her company."Alright, you can stay in here on one condition: Since you are so wide awake this early in the morning, missy...you can tell me what happened to EJ."

She didn't even need to call out his name to confirm that he wasn't there, she could just feel it. The man had a presence like no other she'd ever known. Ever since she'd met him, she'd noticed this innane capability of hers to zone in on his vibes whenever he was within her vicinity. It was almost like he was her twin and this was their psychic connection...theoretically speaking of course since there was no actual blood relation between the two, thank god for that.

Lady peered over her paws into Nicole's eyes, looking almost apolgetic for her silence. "You don't know, do ya? It's ok girl. EJ's got a big day ahead of him. He just needed to get a good jumpstart but I'm sure we'll hear from him soon. In fact," she began as she reached over Lady's head to retrieve her cell phone from the nightstand, "I'll bet you anything we have a message waiting already."

She tried to disguise the look of disappointment when the screen on her phone displayed no notifications of any voicemail or texts. It did however inform her that it was 8:37 am on Monday, September 26th.

"OK, so I know you're probably wondering, Nicole...what the hell were you two doing last night? I know it's gotta be weird for you cuz ever since you came to live with me I've been all, 'oh, there is no way I'm ever getting back together with that sleaze.' Yeah, I know, I said it, ok but, you know what? I really feel like this time things are going to be different. You know, there is this real sense of gravity in his tone when he talks about not knowing what you had until it's gone...or almost gone anyway. I think he finally realizes how precious life is and how little time we have on this earth to make the most of it."

Nicole glanced over at her pup, hoping for some sign of approval but she didn't get so much as a wag of Lady's tail. "You think I'm making a mistake, don't you? You're just too kind to tell me that he's just going to break my heart again. Well, I look at it this way. I'd rather be wrong about trusting him than to risk losing him to someone else. Despite everything we've done to hurt each other, I've never stopped loving him and I know that I never will. If he feels exactly the same like he says he does then, eventually, something's gotta give. Maybe this time we'll find a way to break this vicious cycle for good."

Lady finally offered Nicole the reaction she'd been looking for by wagging her little butt and letting out a few enthusiastic barks. "I know, I know! If I am right, this means great things are to come for the both of us. I get EJ back, and you will be reunited with your brother. We will be one, big happy family."

It was hearing herself make that last statement which brought a hint of sadness to her otherwise gleeful and optimistic mood. Yes, she wanted nothing more than to have a happy family life with EJ but, by her own definition, that family included a white picket fence, 2.5 children, and a dog; the first could be taken care of with one simple phone call, the last was already crossed off that list. It was the children part that would be difficult. Although Johnny and Sydney could very well fill in that void, as long as Sami was alive EJ's precious children would never know a happy home and, as much as she would be thrilled to fix that problem herself by permanently removing Sami from the equation, she loved them far too much to risk hurting them in any way. She was grateful to have them both in her life and she supposed that if maybe EJ and Sami could eventually work out some kind of custody arrangement in the future then that would be enough. Still, there was the self-proclaimed selfish part of her that wanted it all. She wanted a child that would know her and only her as it's mother; a little boy who looked into the crowd after scoring a goal in his soccer game to make sure that she, his mother, was watching, or a little girl who on her graduation day from high school tells the crowd of admirers during her valedictorian"s speech that she wouldn't be the strong, determined woman that she is today if it weren't for her mom.

The good news was, once things were firmly re-established in their relationship, there was a chance they could fulfill at least 99 percent of that dream. It was proven that Nicole was perfectly capable of conceiving; it was only carrying a baby to full-term which was deemed impossible. Although it would not be her preferred method, this made finding a surrogate mother to carry a child that was one hundred percent EJ and Nicole an option, and the very best one at that. She may never again experience the amazing privelege of nurturing a child made from love on her own but when the baby is born, he or she would still have EJ's hair and eyes, her nose and mouth, and only the best Walker and DiMera DNA traits combined.

There was also adoption to consider. Although EJ'd had adverse reactions to the revelation of Sydney being an "adopted" child, she was sure that under different circumstances, such as him being aware that an adoption was taking place, he would be all for it. At least if he truly wished to do whatever it takes to make her the happiest woman alive, he would.

These were things they could discuss a little later down the road. Right now her priority was EJ. Ever since she gave in to her desires the night before they hadn't had a chance to talk. In her eyes at least, the most important thing had already been addressed. They both had said their 'I love you's' many, many times during the course of the night. There were however other details which needed to be discussed. Her living situation was on the top of that list. Even though they were still technically married, she didn't like the idea of simply packing up and moving back in the mansion as if nothing ever happened. She wanted a fresh start and to her that meant taking it slow. She wanted to remain in her apartment for a bit, at least just long enough for her to get a grasp on how things were progressing, then they could talk moving in together again. It was this talk which would perhaps be their biggest challenge and the ultimate test of EJ's devotion to her. She made up her mind that she would never move back in the mansion. EJ could get on his hands and knees, begging and pleading until he was blue in the face but she would not budge. It wasn't even about being around Stefano and Kate; there were just too many bad memories lurking around every corner and she didn't want any of them to taint their new beginning.

"To new beginnings," she said aloud, beaming from ear to ear as she feverishly dialed EJ's number. She just couldn't wait to hear his voice again and tell him she loved him. As she already half-expected, the call went straight to his voicemail. "Hey, it's me. I know you must be really busy getting ready for this evening but I just wanted to call to say how happy I am to have you back and how much I can't wait to see you later and, how much I love you." She paused for a moment, taking a few seconds to appreciate how much conviction she spoke those last three words with, putting absolutely no deliberate effort into them at all as if it were not a matter of opinion she was stating but only the god's honest truth. "There's so much we need to talk about later and you should know that I have decided to accept your offer to come stay with me until my ankle gets better." She'd almost forgotten about her injury until the words came tumbling from her lips, causing her to pull up the sheets to inspect the damage. "And, you'll be happy to know that your diligence with applying the ice has paid off handsomely because my ankle is almost back to it's normal size so maybe I'll actually be able to squeeze my foot into my new pair of Manolo's tonight which, speaking of, you need to let me know when I should arrive and, most importantly, how I'm going to get there cuz I'm probably going to need your help. Anyway, just call me as soon as you can, I know we'll work it out. I promise I won't keep you long, I just want to hear your voice. Ok, love you. Bye."

Nicole grinned as she sank back into the mound of pillows behind her, a dreamy smile spreading across her face as she begin reliving every second of their grand lovemaking session from the night before and as she began to make plans for the one to follow later this evening. Lady however, had other plans for her and the little dog began yippng incessantly until Nicole was forced to snap back to reality and tend to the needs of her little pup. "OK, I know, I know you need a potty break. I don't know if I can get you downstairs but we'll think of something, kiddo. Oh crap..." The thought of having to walk instantly reminded Nicole of the crutches she imagined were still lying by the front door. However, when she swung her legs over the side of the bed in effort to finally get a move on with her day, she was delighted to find that EJ had taken the care to see that they were carefully placed at her bedside before he had left.

"Yup, things are going to be different this time, Lady. You just wait and see." There was no solid evidence to back up that statement. She couldn't prove EJ had changed or that this time would be any different than the last. It was just a gut feeling from which she decided to take a huge leap of faith in. She never could have imagined just how quickly her feelings would be put to the test.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Earth to EJ," Kate said with obvious annoyance as she waved her hand back and forth in the viewing path between his eyes and his cell phone in attempt to snap him out of whatever disgusting daydream involving Nicole he was caught up in. The two were sitting side by side on the couch in the DiMera mansion living room going over some important topics for EJ's speech later that evening. Well, Kate was at least. She doubted EJ even heard a word of it.

"Yes, Kate, sorry. You were saying," he said semi-apologetically as he reluctantly stuffed his phone back into his jacket pocket with a sigh.

"You need to focus, darling, or you are never going to be able to pull this off. There will be plenty of time for celebrating with Nicole later."

"I'm sorry. I guess I'd just feel better if I got a chance to talk to her. She's not returning my calls or answering any of my texts. I'm a bit worried."

"What's there to be worried about," Kate said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. "Mary and Dave are both there with her to make sure she has all the help she needs to get ready. In fact, I just talked to Mary a few minutes ago when I stepped out of the room and Nicole was just getting out of the shower and then they were going to take her out shopping for a dress and to get her hair and nails done. Sounds like her day is going to be just as busy as yours."

"Well, as long as she's alright." Yes, that was the most important thing though he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that she hadn't called, even for a brief two minute call just to say hello.

"Look, I know what you're thinking but, let me tell you. I've actually known Nicole a lot longer than you have and believe me, now that you've let her in on what's going down tonight, she's probably just so focused on rehearsing what she's going to say. The girl loves a scheme just as much as the rest of us."

Kate's surprisingly pro-Nicole statement couldn't help but make him smile. Actually, he'd been quite amazed at how receptive she'd been to the idea of involving Nicole in tonight's events overall. He'd never intended to share his plan of winning Nicole back with his father and Kate, at least not before he already accomplished the goal. He would have faced nothing but opposition from the both of them and they would have executed every trick in the book to keep it from happening. However, he also hadn't expected to win her back so soon. He'd imagined there would be months of flirting, wooing, and begging before she would finally cave and give him another chance. Now that she had officially recommitted, there was no reason to keep it a secret. He couldn't if he had tried; from the moment he walked through the door that morning they were onto him, making all sorts of accusations and assumptions based solely on the smile on his face and his cheery disposition. There was no longer any reason for him to deny it; his wife was coming back into his life and his father and Kate, and whomever else might have a problem with that, were just going to have to learn to accept it. Much to his delight, they did. At least as best as they knew how to. He hardly expected Nicole to receive a red carpet welcome, but at least they'd resigned themselves to the fact that he was in love with Nicole and there was nothing they could do about it.

"You're right, she probably is," EJ said with a bemused grin as he pictured Nicole standing before a mirror, carefully coordinating her lines with the perfect facial expressions to match.

"Yes, and you my dear need to be doing the same so can we please just concentrate?"

EJ rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. "I already can't wait until this bloody shindig is over with."

"Focus, darling," Kate said while rising up out of her seat. "I'm going to go have the kitchen make us a fresh pot of coffee. By the time I get back, I want you to be able to tell me just how you plan to improve the job situation here in Salem."

"Well, for starters I plan to create several openings on the Salem police force, just by doing a bit of weeding," he jokingly called out after her, expecting her to pop her head back in the doorway to voice her disapproval. When she didn't reappear, he knew it was safe to steal a few moments to check his phone. Still no messages. He dialed her number and was once again forwarded directly to her voicemail. He quickly terminated the call before the beep prompted him to leave his message. He couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that something just wasn't right. He'd already left her close to a dozen messages and sent her a dozen red roses in just three hours time without a single word from her in response and, when she was supposedly wide awake. Even if she was just busy as Kate had speculated, Nicole would have called. She was the kind of woman who went out of her way to make you feel special. In their happier times, in addition to several phone calls and texts throughout the day, she'd often left little written notes for him to find on his pillow, inside his briefcase or suit jacket pocket, just to say I love you or to leave him a little tease as to what bedroom endeavors she had in store for him when he, or she, got home. It was the little things just like that he'd missed so much over the last several months.

It wasn't unlike her, however, to completely avoid him when she was angry and that was what scared him. Although he couldn't fathom what he might have done to make her have a change of heart, since the last time they spoke she was telling him how happy she was as she drifted off to sleep in his arms, he wasn't about to sit around assume all was well. Maybe she simply decided she would continue to help him but when it came to them being a couple, she was having second thoughts.

With this thought fresh on his mind, he sprang to his feet and headed toward the door, only to be cut off in the doorway seperating the living room from the foyer by his father and Chris Matthews, the political advisor Kate had hired two weeks prior to assist them with the campaign.

"Ah, Elvis good. Something very important has come up that Chris needs to go over with you right away."

The young, skinny blonde-haired man with the thick tortoise shell-rimmed glasses nodded in agreement. "Yeah, EJ, there's quite a few things we need to discuss about tonight due to this change in plans." The change in plans being Nicole's involvement.

"Why? Is there some sort of problem?"

"I have many problems with this, actually," the young man said nervously as he shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to another.

"Really? Such as?"

"Well, where do I begin? Shall I start with your estranged wife being a former porn star who was arrested and convicted for kidnapping your daughter?"

"Really? Well then, let me finish this conversation by telling you, you're fired!"

"Elvis," Stefano raised his voice authoritatively, placing a hand on his son's shoulder to calm him. It was never a good thing when he saw his son's eyes turning red."Just listen to the man, hmmm?"

"EJ, I'm not passing judgment on Mrs. DiMera, I'm just stating facts. Facts that the media and the public is well aware of and that your opponent will use to their advantage to defeat you. Politics is a dirty game in which nothing is held sacred. Your wife, your children, will all be put in the crossfire. My only intention is to prepare you for how you respond to these attacks and, judging by the way you just tore my head off a minute ago, it seems we've got a lot of work to do."

"Alright, fine. I have a great idea. Why don't we just have Nicole come over here so we can all sit down and talk this thing over together?"

"Actually, I suggested that to your father myself but it seems your wife is unavailable at the moment. Apparently she's in the middle of having her hair done and won't be able to make it here for a few hours and we simply can't wait on her. That's why we're sending Kate over to brief her while I go over this with you and your father."

EJ frowned but reluctantly agreed. Even if Nicole did change her mind about him, it appeared that as far as the plot went, she was in. He'd just have to spend the next several months trying to convince her his feelings were real all over again but it didn't require him doing anything he hadn't already planned. He'd already vowed to spend the rest of his life making her feel like the most special woman in the world.

"Good. Now that we're all on the same page, I'll leave you two alone to get to work while I go find Katherine and fill her in."

Stefano quickly ducked outside into the hall and strolled the corridor, peeking into each and every room as he walked by it, searching for his wife. When he turned the corner in the direction of the kitchen, the two of them collided.

"Where have you been, I've been looking all over for you," Kate demanded in a husky whisper.

"I've been busy thinking up ways to keep Elvis occupied. I thought I told you not to leave him alone for a second. I swear I caught him just as he was about to run out the door and go running back to Nicole."

"Oh really? In what car? Isn't that precisely why we sent everyone out on errands this morning?"

"Well with the way he's acting, that poor fool would crawl to her on broken limbs if he had to."

"Darling, you need to learn to realx," Kate cooed as she stroked her husband's cheek. "We have got this all under control. Mary is out doing the all day grocery shopping with Dave and, after you so curtly reminded them which Mr. DiMera it is that signs thier paychecks, I doubt either one will be giving away our little plan anytime soon. I can pretty much guarantee that at this very moment, Nicole is sitting alone in her miserable little apartment, wondering how she let EJ get the best of her once again. Oh, and you'll be happy to know I also successfully intercepted a dozen roses being delivered to her apartment and had them sent to Patti's hotel room instead."

"Ah, yes. That does make me feel a little bit better," Stefano said, chuckling. "And what did Patti think of her flowers?"

"Well, hopefully they won't arrive before I do. I'm about to go see Patti and make sure everything goes smoothly tonight before I head off to pay Nicole a visit. By the time I get to her apartment, she should be a complete mess. Of course I'll have to do the right thing and comfort her, assuring her that she is very much part of EJ's plans for the evening. 'Course she won't be thinking that his plans were to humiliate her, just yet anyway."

"Don't you mean, OUR plan. It's seems such a shame to let Elvis take credit for something so brilliant."

"Oh, But it'll all be worth it, my darling. It will be so worth it." 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The blaring sun pouring in through the window refused to let Nicole continue to sleep. As she slowly drifted back into consciousness, the awareness of the sunlight warming her face paired with her current resting place on the couch told her it was already well into the afternoon, thanks to the positioning of the westward facing windows of the living room. She immediately blinked both eyes open and pulled herself up onto the arm of the couch and scanned the end table for her cell phone. When she didn't find it sitting in it's usual resting place, a quick survey of her surroundings found it on the floor right next to the couch. That's when she realized she'd probably fallen asleep with it still in her hand hours ago while she'd anxiously awaited a call from EJ. The display informed her there were new text messages waiting.

"Well, it's about time, EJ," she attempted to say with nothing but sheer annoynace. Instead, she the statement came across as cheery,almost thankful. It all changed in a heartbeat, literally, when she eagerly checked her inbox, only to find that none of the messages were from were just four new messages waiting to be read, and all four were from Chloe. Although she would have been happy to hear from her friend on any other occasion, seeing Chloe's name next to the icons representing the unread messages caused her heart to sink down into her knees and become seemingly lodged there. She opened the first one out of politeness but the content failed to make her feel any better. The text proudly eclaimed that, 'Parker took his first steps!,' along with a pic to document it, showing Chloe's adorable little boy and his proud papa observing the event in the background. In an instant, she was reminded of the two things it was becoming more and more apparent she would never have; a beautiful child and his father who loved her just as much as his own son.

For a moment she thought she couldn't breathe. She felt as if she'd suddenly become paralyzed from the neck down, her entire body feeling completely useless and numb. That is, numb, except for the throbbing in her chest where her heart had once been.

It was only the passing of minutes which told her that she was actually still alive. If she was breathing, and if her heart was actually still beating in her chest where, and as, it should be, she wasn't at all aware of it. To convince herself that she wasn't indeed paralyzed as well, she turned her attention back to her phone and pressed a button to illuminate the display. It was 3:42 pm and her fingers, at least, were working properly. In on last-ditch attempt to spare herself some suffering, she checked the "Missed Calls" log on her phone. When "EJ" was shown at the top of the list, there was a brief moment of relief until she realized that it was only because he had been the last person to call her yesterday when he supposedly invited her to the park. A quick check of her voicemail validated his story as the only message waiting for her there was the one of him extending the invite. Although it was nothing but old news now, it was lovely just to hear his voice. He sounded so hopeful that she would agree to meet him, and made it seem as if her refusal to agree would have completely ruined his day. He just had that way of turning on the charm to get what he wanted and it was this thought which hit her hard. He wanted her, it was no secret nor was it intended to be, and last night she let him win the battle, surrendering her heart, body, and soul with barely a fight. Game over.

All at once, the aching in her chest spread through her entire body like wildfire, reaching all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes in a flash. Her eyes began to flood with tears which poured down her cheeks in sheets and saturated the pajama top she was wearing within seconds. She'd let it happen again. She went and did the very thing she swore up and down, on her mother's grave, that she wouldn't allow in a million years. She'd trusted EJ DiMera.

"You son of a bitch," she screamed, throwing her phone as hard as she could at the front door, causing it to explode into a few pieces as the battery and it's protective cover both came flying loose backwards as the main component fell flat to the floor. Lady, who had been sleeping peacefully in her bed adjacent to the couch, suddenly sprang to life and scurried into the kitchen where she must've supposed it was safe. Only when Nicole's pained wailing begin to fade to soft sobs did Lady feel it was safe to venture back into the living room to be at Nicole's side.

When Nicole saw her little dog suddenly appear at the foot of the couch, she scooped her up off the floor and into her arms.

"At least I know I'll always have you, right," Nicole asked hopefully as she hugged Lady tight. The pooch was quick to offer her some affirmation by licking Nicole all about her cheek and chin.

"I know I was stupid. I mean, how many times can one person fall for the same tricks, right? It's those damn eyes, I tell you. They make you want to believe everything he says is true. Maybe they're all right about him, Lady. Perhaps he is the devil himself."

Just as she was about to break out into a fresh bout of sobs, a knock came upon the door. Nicole gently sat Lady down at her side and immediately and furiously began wiping away her tears. In the off-chance that it was EJ, she didn't want him to see her like this. She refused to offer him the satisfaction of knowing she'd shed tears on his behalf since surely tears would be considered bonus points when tallying up his score at the end of the day. After quietly clearing her throat and taking a few deep breaths to regain her composure, she finally managed to ask, sounding as normal as possible, "Who is it?"

"Nicole, it's Kate. Can I come in?" She could hardly wait for Nicole to open the door so that she could delight in seeing her tear-stained cheeks, all the while denying that anything at all was wrong. It was a good thing she'd already enjoyed her few precious moments outside the door listening to Nicole's pitiful cries.

"Kate?" Immediately, an alarming thought came to mind. [i]My god! What if something happened to EJ?[/i] Here she was assuming what she thought could be the worst all this time when, maybe it was the unthinkable which had happened. What if he had been hurt, or... [i]Oh god, no![/i] The fear caused her to completely forget about her injury. She sprung up from the couch, intending to run for the door, throwing all of her weight on her first foot forward, her injured one. The excruciating pain caused her to stumble and fall face-first to the floor, her arms unable to reach in front of her quickly enough to soften the impact as her right temple clipped the edge of the small console table which sat right next to the front door. Nicole shrieked with pain, coming literally, from head to toe.

"Nicole, are you alright in there," Kate asked with faux-concern as she silently chuckled.

"Yeah," Nicole said as convincingly as she could as pulled herself to her knees and unlocked the latch on the door.

Kate flung the door wide open, nearly knocking Nicole out of the way in the process. Luckily her arms came to her rescue this time and successfully managed to stop the swinging door from hitting her side.

"Oh, dear, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still in the way," Kate said, almost sincerely. "My god, EJ was right. You are a mess!" She couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Nicole. She could confidently and truthfully say, she was the most pathetic thing she'd ever seen with her puffy eyes, tear-stained cheeks, swollen ankle, and big red knot now forming on her forehead.

Now that it had been confirmed that he was alive, Nicole suddnely found herself wishing EJ was dead. "Oh, so you spoke to EJ? Today," Nicole asked as she begin to crawl her way back to the couch, partly to find a comfortable place to sit, partly because she didn't want Kate to see the wounded look in her eyes.

"Honey, I've been doing nothing but talking to EJ all day long," Kate said, throwing herslef down next to Nicole in exaggerated exhaustion." I'm actually relieved he sent me out on this little errand. He's just so focused on the speech he's going to give tonight, and making sure that all his ducks are in a row that he's driving me up the wall. But I'm sure I don't need to tell you what a control freak he can be."

"He's going to be giving a speech? On what? His fondness of the Horton family?" As pissed as she was at him right now, why did the thought still manage to bring a smile to her face?

"I have been given strict instructions not to give anything away. My assignment was to come here and help you get ready and, lucky for me and you, it looks like your elevator has been repaired which makes things so much easier.

"Ah, I see," Nicole said indifferently as she reached down to massage her aching ankle. [i]Would have been nice if he'd sent someone over, just to make sure I was OK. Just to see if I needed anything but, no, what's in that for him?[/i] "Well, alright Kate. Then what is the plan?"

"Well, the event begins at five but you shouldn't arrive any earlier than six. We don't want to alarm the crowd too early before EJ makes his grand entrance. You know how these people panic when a DiMera shows up at one of their little events."

[i]She just called me a DiMera.[/i] Although she was indeed, the acknowledgement still sounded strange coming from Kate's lips. Like her husband, she'd never accepted her as EJ's wife but apparently, something had changed. She felt her spirits lifting when she theorized that Kate's change of tune maybe had a little something to do with EJ reminding them all that she was his wife and, like it or not, therefore part of the DiMera family. OK, maybe just this once she could forgive him for being a bit insensitive to her needs because he was stoically defending her honor.

"Wait Kate, what do you mean 'I' shouldn't arrive any earlier?"

"Well, like I said we don't want anyone showing up too early. We'll all be arriving at the same time."

"No, I get that," Nicole said, hesitating to express her true concern which was to come next. "I just thought that, uh, well...EJ and I might arrive together and you're making it sound like that's not part of the plan."

"Well, it would ruin the surprise a bit, don't you think, if you two were to stroll in there arm in arm?"

"Well I guess it would help if I knew what the surprise was going to be, and how I'm supposed to play into this" she stated, her words tainted with disappointment as her visions of strutting into the new town square with her husband at her side were quickly extinguished.

"Well, I can assure you my dear, it is going to be life-changing for the entire DiMera family," Kate said as she brushed a few stray strands of Nicole's hair from her face and tucked them neatly behind her ear before rising from her seat. She almost felt sorry for Nicole as she glared down into her hopeful, wide-eyed gaze. "After tonight, things are going to be so much better for all of us." [i]Well, all except you, that is.[/i]She quickly disguised the bemused smile creeping across her face as one of warmth, and friendship. "You don't need to do a thing except to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." [i] I know I Will. [/i] So, I highly suggest you start getting ready, young lady. We'll send Dave to pick you up and escort you there at a quarter 'til six. Oh, and here my dear, take this," she said as she reached her hand into her purse and began to fish around inside, finally extracting a bottle of Countess Wilhelmina liquid foundation and handing it to her daughter-in-law who had escorted her on her crutches to the door. She winked at her before turning on her heels, continuing to speak on her way out. "By the looks of that bump on your head you're going to need the whole bottle."

"Great, thanks," Nicole said disingenuously as she eagerly closed the door behind Kate who trotted away without looking back. Eager to get a look at her new injury, she slowly made her way into the bathroom, still very unstable on her new mode of transportation. "Wonderful," she shouted aloud as she gently poked the large reddish-purple knot on her head and observed the discoloration setting in under her eye through the mirror. "Well, at least Kate is good for something. It's no Lancome but Ol' Countess W just might come in handy."

She glanced at the clock on the bathroom wall. It was now after four-thiry. She undressed and got in the shower as swiftly but carefully as she could, eager to bypass the next hour and a half standing inbetween her seeing EJ again. She was still a bit irritated that he hadn't at least called, but his concern with involving her with his plans for this evening at least proved that she was on his mind. Whatever was about to go down was big, and she supposed she could forgive him all this.

It was this last line that once again conjured up the song that she couldn't get off of her brain since she woke up. It still amazed her to think that yesterday morning she would have laughed if someone had told her later that night, she and EJ would be making love. It just floored her to think that one little touch could send all those lost feelings flooding back, but Celine Dion knew just as well as she did, how, [i]When you touch me like this, and when you hold me like that, I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me...[/i] She found herself humming through the entire song as she dreamily recalled every delightful moment of the night before once again. So, ok, maybe things didn't go as perfectly as she'd hoped this day but by the time she reached the end of the song, she couldn't help but sing a few of the last lines aloud, emphasizing just how much they represented her and EJ's relationship. They had been through some incredibly challenging situations but, time and again found that, "If you forgive me all this, if I forgive you all that. We forgive and forget and it's all coming back to me, now."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

EJ kept glancing down at his phone as he walked circles around his father in the small clearing just outside of the tunnel which led directly into the newly constructed Horton Town Square. It was 5:52; just about time for him to make his grand entrance. He could hear every word of the speech in progress being given by what would likely be his only opponent: Salem's current mayor and his own brother-in-law, Abraham Carver. He'd already heard bits and pieces of Abraham's speech while having dinner with him and Lexie and, it was actually that very gathering which had inspired his ingenious plan. Thanks to Abraham's need to constantly rehearse his lines in front of friends and family, EJ knew precisely which point to waltz in and shake things up. There was just one itty, bitty problem. That time was drawing near and Nicole was nowhere to be found.

"Elvis, why don't you just take a seat. You're making me nervous with all of this prancing around."

"Well I don't know if you realize this father but both your wife and mine seem to be missing in action. Jesus, why doesn't she pick up her bloody phone!"

"Relax, my son, they are on their way. You would not believe all the traffic problems this event has caused. Just another fine example of the ineptitude of the Salem PD." EJ didn't need to know that Kate was sitting in a car just around the corner, doing some last-minute coaching with Patti while Dave was following strict instructions to assure that Nicole arrived late enough to avoid any pre-speech contact with EJ. Just blame it on the Bradys. It never failed him before.

"That's it. That's my line. I've got to get in there," EJ said, checking his surroundings once more for some sign of Nicole. "Are you sure she's with Kate? This is just too bizarre she's not picking up her phone."

"Yes, Elvis, I am sure, now go! Get in there before the moment is lost!"

"No, you see father," EJ began, ignoring his father's prompting while he tapped out yet another, 'Where are you?' text to Nicole, "the moment is lost only if Nicole is not there to see it."

Stefano inwardly groaned at his son's obsession with, whom Kate liked to refer to as, Malibu Rum Barbie. Thank the lord this would all be put to an end in about an hour or two. He was spared having to come up with another excuse when his cell began to vibrate in his hand with a message from Kate asking if they were ready. "Ah, see it's Katherine," Stefano said stuffing the phone back into the breast pocket of his suit after replying with a simple 'yes'. "They are already inside."

"Nicole's in there," EJ begged for confirmation as he nodded his head in the direction of the square. There was nothing he could do to stop the gleeful smile from spreading across his face at the thought of seeing her again. It was the only part of today that he was really looking forward to.

"Yes, she is in there," Stefano responded with a roll of his eyes. "Now remember, you're going to introduce Katherine as your campaign manager first and then we'll let her introduce Nicole. The people need to hear she's being endorsed by someone other than you. Then you can say whatever gibberish about her that you like."

EJ returned his father's eye roll with one of his own. [i]Gibberish?[/i] Telling the whole town that Nicole was his reason for getting up in the morning was the only part of the speech he'd been rehearsing that wasn't just a bunch of nonsense. Well that, and the part when he tells them all that he loves her and his children more than anyone or anything in the world.

"Jeez, people! How 'bout showing a little courtesy to the chick on crutches," Nicole grumbled as she tried to push her way through the crowd of people in the new Horton Town Square. "I don't even recognize any of you! Go back to your own towns and tell them they need to build you one of these! Ridiculous!"

She was already completely exhausted, thanks to the two block walk she elected to take rather than waiting for the gridlocked traffic to move. She'd hoped to still arrive on time but she could only go as fast as her little crutch-wielding arms could take her. By the time she set foot inside the square she was about five minutes late. She took a moment to rest on her crutches, craning her head above the crowd to see if there was any sign of EJ. No luck, from where she was standing, she couldn't even see the location from where Abe Carver was speaking.

"Ooooh, what a shocker! Abe's running for mayor," she said sarcastically, tapping the shoulder of one of the young brunettes in front of her. The girl turned around just long enough to turn her nose up at her before turning her attention back to her cell phone.

"OK, EJ, where-," Before she could even finish the sentence, she heard his voice coming over the PA system. "Ah-ha," she squealed upon hearing the familiar british accent of her hubby ringing through the air. Apparently, he'd stolen the mike from Abe as she could faintly hear some protesting from him in the background. "Oh, this is going to be good!"

She resumed trying to push her way through the crowd but whatever EJ was up to was drawing the crowd nearer to him, making it all the more difficult for her to maneuver. When she heard the next sentence he spoke, she froze. "You're running for mayor?" She shook her head from side to side, completely flabbergasted. Once the initial shock set in, she was able to think more clearly. "That's brilliant! That is completely BRILLIANT!"

She managed to get close enough where she could finally get a peek at EJ. He looked amazing in the black suit which she had always told him was his best, along with her favorite blue shirt and blue-striped tie to match. It tickled her to think that he chose his wardrobe tonight remembering these things.

As he continued to give his speech, she listened intently to every promise he made that he was sure to break with a smile. "EJ, I believe you have found your calling," she chuckled aloud to herself. "You were born to be a politician."

"Oh, he'll never get elected to office in this town," a cute little elderly woman said to her in response, even though Nicole's comments hadn't been intended for anyone's ears but her own. "He's a DiMera, you know?"

Nicole gasped with faux disdain at the mention of the DiMera name, enjoying the opportunity to play dumb to the woman who obviously had no idea who she was talking to. "You don't say!"

"Oh yes, he's worse than the father they say. And the ex-wife? She was one of those adult film stars."

"Wow, you seem to know alot about those dastardly DiMeras." [i]Alright Grandma, easy on the porn star remarks. You're lucky you're like eighty or we'd be jousting right now. You with your cane and me with these crutches.[/i] What the old woman said next surprised her though.

"Funny nobody says a word about that daughter of the police chief though. She struts through this town and looks down on everybody else as if she's some kind of saint. Every time you turn around she's got a new kid by anyone but the man she's married to. Ain't nothin' but a bunch of hypocrites running this town, darlin'. I don't know about you but EJ DiMera has my vote."

"Well, I'm still undecided. I guess I just want to hear the rest of what he has to say."

"Don't over-analyze it darlin'. Sometimes you just gotta learn to throw caution to the wind, especially when you're down so low there's not much more can be done to make it any worse."

The old lady's couldn't have been more wrong. In just a few minutes time, things went from bad, to worse, to unimaginable.

It was a good thing he'd spent a good part of the day rehearsing as EJ had no knowledge of the words which were pouring from his lips. He could only pray that they were ingrained enough in his subconscious to be spoken in the same sequence in which they'd been designed on paper. He simply couldn't concentrate on anything except trying to locate Nicole.

"There is a very famous quote that says, 'behind every great man is a great woman.' I can assure you that I am no exception. It is with great pride that I introduce to you first, one of the two most important women in my life, my campaign manager, Kate DiMera."

EJ was grateful to not have to speak for the next few minutes as Kate took the microphone. How was it possible there was no sign of Nicole? She was due to take the stage any minute, proudly standing at his side as he pledged to recommit to her every bit as much as he was committed to getting this town back on it's feet. His heart began to race as Kate began to make the statements leading up to her introduction but, wait a minute. Something was way off. At first it was just a few odd words here and there which grabbed his attention but the more he listened, the more it was quickly becoming apparent that he had been duped.

"Marriages, like any other once well-intended commitments, don't always work out. Some people view EJ's failed marriages as a weakness. They say, 'How can I invest everything I've got in a person who is just going to throw in the towel when the going gets tough?' Well, I for one believe real growth comes from being able to accept the fact that something is no longer working, and finding new and exciting ways to move forward. That is what EJ has always done in his personal life, and it is what he will do for this town. With this in mind, I would like to introduce the other important woman in EJ's life, Patti Stanger!"

As the crowd began to roar with cheers and applause, EJ stole the small window of opportunity to hash it out with Kate. "What the hell do you think you're doing," he snorted angrily through gritted teeth.

"I'm saving your ass, darling. She's not coming."

"Nicole? What do you mean, she's not coming?"

"I don't know what her problem is, she just said she changed her mind. Lucky for you I had a back-up plan. Now just do yourself a favor and do what you do best. Lie."

[i]Lie? How about die?[/i] That was more like what he felt like doing at that very moment.

Nicole watched the woman she immediately recognized as the 'Millionaire Matchmaker' stroll over to the podium and thread her arm through EJ's before planting a kiss on his cheek. She was certain that if she wasn't giving her body strict instructions to breathe that she would collapse into the ground in a matter of seconds.

How did he do it? How could he live with himself, walking around amongst them pretending to be a normal human being with a heart and soul when the only thing which actually brought him any sense of joy was seeing people suffer. Well, she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing her do anything, ever again.

She made her way out of the town square in record speed, experiencing none of the difficulties using the crutches this time around as she did earlier. In fact, it almost seemed like they might somehow be propelling her faster...Or it could have been that she was never more anxious to get the hell out of somewhere as fast as she was just then. Either way, within ten minutes she was back at home, safe behind locked windows and doors in her apartment. She wanted to cry. She wanted to curl up into a ball on her bed and cry for days but she wouldn't. She'd promised herself when she got herself into this that no matter what she would not allow herself to shed another tear for EJ DiMera. After all, any grief she may experience was well deserved for her being so stupid.

The thought of seeing him again was unbearable. She imagined looking up into those eyes which had once been so warm and inviting only to find the cold stare of some kind of demon. He would come to her door with a smug, satisfied smile on his face which would intensify upon detecting her anguish. She had to get out of here, and fast, and there was only one hope. Desperately struggling to supress the tears she insisted were non-existent, she picked her phone and called Chloe. In less than ten minutes, Philip's jet was being fueled and prepared for take-off from Chicago. Number of departing passengers: 2 adults and 1 child. Number of returning passengers: 3 adults, 1 child, and 1 small dog. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"And just where do you think you're going," Kate asked demandingly, grabbing EJ by a fistful of his suit jacket as he tried to slip out of the tunnel, leaving the town square and a hoard of news-thirsty reporters behind.

"Where I'm going is none of your concern," he replied sternly, reaching behind him and and pinching her hand to free himself from her grasp.

"It is my concern when I've spent day and night working on this campaign of yours for the last several weeks. My hard work doesn't end with you walking up to that podium and telling everybody you want to play mayor, you know!"

"Actually, Kate, it does," he replied, sneering at her in disgust. "Consider yourself relieved of your duties from here on out."

"You're firing me? For saving your ass?"

"You don't fool me, mummy," he said approaching her intimidatingly, backing her into a corner near the tunnel entrance with his finger pointing directly in her face. "There's a conspiracy taking place here and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

"What conspiracy," Kate asked, laughing maniacally as if it were the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. "Look, I know you're upset about what I said about Nicole but darling, I had to think of something!"

"Did it any point occur to you that if there needed to be a change that you run it by me first?" He could feel every drop of blood in his body rushing to his face as he screamed at her in frustration.

"Well, if you want the god's honest truth, no," Kate retorted, inching toward him to regain some of her ground. "If I had told you that Nicole wasn't coming you would have run off trying to find her and lost all focus on what's really important here. Believe me, you'll thank me this time next year when your children are back at home with you, in the mansion, where they belong!"

There was so much he wanted to say to her in response but he wasn't about to waste another minute of precious time arguing with Kate. Something had gone terribly wrong between him and Nicole since the last time he saw her, but when? And what?

He blew past Kate, who could do nothing but stare at him helplessly as he walked by, and flew through the tunnel to the curb where his car was waiting. He attempted several more calls and texts to Nicole as he impatiently waited for the car to make the short five minute drive to her apartment building. Nothing. All day long he hadn't heard so much as a hello from her. His fist pounded the headrest of the seat in front of him as he contemplated his stupidity. That fact that he hadn't spoken to her had left him with an uneasy feeling so why, oh why, did he not make the effort to go and find her, to have that visual and verbal confirmation that he needed form her to make sure that she, and everything between them, was ok? When the car finally came to a stop and parked in front of her building, he gave the seat a few good kicks as well for good measure before getting out.

The light was on in her apartment. That was the first encouraging signal he'd gotten all day. He bounded into the lobby and, even though he did take the time to notice that the elevator had been repaired, he opted for the stairs. Although the elevator, if available, would certainly get him to the third floor faster, there was the possibility of having to wait if it was currently in use and he couldn't be wasting precious seconds on such a gamble.

By the time he got to her door he was gasping for breath. With one fist pounding the door, his other furiously jiggled at the knob. Locked. "Nicole, sweetheart, are you in there?" Silence. "Nicole?"

He could hear some shuffling around inside. He gave a relieved sigh, assuming it was Nicole coming to open the door for him. Instead, the walls encompassing her apartment begin to vibrate from the sudden onset of music blaring from within. He wasn't sure whether or not the song was purposely chosen but, either way, when he recognized the tune as 'Love Stinks,' he just knew things were not about to go well.

"Nicole? You can try to drown me out all you like but I am not going anywhere until you open this door. Nicole!" No answer. If he were a more patient man, he might have made good on his promise and stood politely outside her door, waiting for her to have mercy upon him and let him in. There was simply no time for patience when dealing with Nicole. He knew quite well from experience she could be every bit as obstinate as himself and, with this in mind, he began thrusting all the weight of his upper body into the door in attmept to break it down.

"What the hell is going on here?"

EJ looked up startled to find a nicely dressed, middle-aged, professional-looking woman who apparently lived in the apartment next door had stepped into the hall to investigate all the commotion.

"My apologies for disturbing you," EJ said, immediately switching to angelic cherub mode. "I'm EJ DiMera, Nicole's husband."

"Yeah, I know who you are," the woman said unimpressed as she put her hands on her hips. "Look, I don't know what's going on between the two of you and frankly I don't care to know but one thing to me is pretty clear. She doesn't want to talk to you and I don't think that is going to change by you busting through her door so, you have two choices. Just go back where you came from on your own free will, or I will call the police and they can escort you. Now, what is it your people say in Italian...[i]capisce[/i]?"

Without saying a word to the woman in response, he merely threw his hands up in a half-hearted surrender and began the short trek back to the stairwell as the woman watched after him until he was at least out of sight. The last thing he needed right now was Bo and the rest of the Brady bunch showing up, eager for any excuse to slap a pair of cuffs on his wrist and haul him down to the station. It was time to come up with a plan B and it didn't take him long to remember the fire escape stairs which led directly up to her living room balcony.

The plan sounded easier than it turned out to be. As it turned out, the stairs which led to the ground from the bottom-most blacony were folded up and required the release of a latch to extend them. By his best estimate, the lowest grasp he could get on the railings to pull himself up was a good fifteen feet from the ground, at least. He made one fruitless attempt at a jump but it didn't give him anywhere near the altitude that he needed. He was going to need some help.

EJ caught the eye of his hired hand and motioned for him to step out of the car. It was a good thing Ralph was driving him tonight. Ralph was typically EJ's driver of choice since he could easily play the role of both driver and bodyguard. At six foot six and about 260 lbs of sheer muscle, the twenty-seven year old Italian stallion was a poster image of intimidating.

"Need a boost, Mr. D," Ralph asked approaching his employer grinning from ear to ear, eager to be of assistance.

"Thank you, my good man," EJ said appreciatively as he stripped himself down to nothing but his muscle tee, AKA wifebeater, from the waist up, tossing them into a neat pile he assumed would be collected by Ralph once the task was complete. He then put his knee to the man's already hunched-over back and gradually climbed feet-first onto his shoulders while Ralph pulled himself upright. With EJ now at the top of the tall two-man tower, with his arms fully extended over his head he was easily able to grab a hold of the railing and pull himself up without having to use the tips of his toes.

Once the was able to pull himself over the railing of the first landing, it was smooth sailing from there. The stairs between the first and upper landings were unobstructed and in less than a minute, he was outside Nicole's balcony door.

The sliding glass door was opened, leaving nothing but the screen door barricading him from entry. He gently tried to slide it open but it was in the locked position and refused budge. She'd finally turned the music off, probably assuming he was gone for good. He considered calling out to her but then thought that perhaps any forewarning that he was there might cause her to lock herself behind another closed door. He couldn't risk that. Completely avoiding him was her only defense, and he knew that because it had been his only coping mechanism too. It was so much easier to pretend that he didn't love her, didn't [i]need[/i] her when he didn't have to look her in the eye.

He patted his pants pockets in search of some tool which might assist in his entry but came up empty. Anything he may have had, like his house key for instance, which may have come in handy was in his suit jacket. He did a quick survey of the balcony but it was completely devoid of any tools, utensils, or items of decor aside from the small round table and two chairs where Nicole sometimes liked to sit and sip a cup of tea on a warm, sunny morning, or a martini or two in the late afternoon. That left him with only one option and with one swift kick to the screen door, he was easily able to pull his body through the large tear that his foot had created. Despite the unexpected utilization of acrobatics, gaining entry to her apartment had been the easy part. It was getting her to open heart that would be the real challenge. As he made his way inside, searching for the room she was holed up in, his heart began to race as a few verses from an old Springsteen tune kept replaying in his head, over and over, as if to forewarn him of the challenge that lay ahead. [i]She'll let you in her heart, if you got a hammer and a vice, but into the Secret Garden, don't think twice.[/i]


	14. Chapter 14

Nicole was in the bathroom removing her make-up so that she could apply a fresh layer for the trip to Chicago when she heard the commotion coming from the living room. When she poked her head out the door to investigate, he was right there. Before she could even react, he threw himself between the bathroom door and it's frame, making it impossible for her to shut the door and effectively trapping her inside in the process.

"Get out of here," Nicole screamed angrily, shoving him backward toward the door as hard as she could. All that managed to accomplish was to cause the door to tightly shut behind him.

"Not before I get some answers, sweetheart," he insisted determinedly but calmly, making every attempt to keep his frustration with her under control. He wasn't even angry with her for not showing tonight. If she was having second thoughts about moving forward with their relationship, although he would be greatly disappointed, he completely understood. In actuality, he had been fully prepared to spend the next several months trying to smooth things over with her so it wasn't all that surprising that she may be having a change of heart. What aggravated him was her refusal to discuss whatever troubles or doubts there were possessing her thoughts.

"You really are unbelieveable." The long, blonde ponytail she'd pulled her hair into while she was freshening up swayed back and forth as she shook her head in disbelief. "After what you did to me tonight, you have some nerve barging in here and demanding some sort of explanation from me."

[i]What I did tonight?[/i] "What do you mean?" [i]Was it possible word was already out about what happened in the square?[/i] Her soulful eyes told him what she was feeling reached way beyond anger. She was hurt. It was then he realized there were more than emotional wounds. Her left eye was bruised. For a moment he reasoned it must've happened during yesterday's fall but his recollection of the incident determined that impossible. Something else had happened.

"My god, Nikki, what happened to you," his hand reached out to touch her face with the same loving concern that was in his voice. When her hand rose to her defense and violently smacked his away, he had an incredibly intense sensation of what it felt like to be stabbed in the gut.

"Don't touch me," she insisted firmly, in a voice that was at least one octave lower and a few decibels higher than her normal speaking voice. "And don't stand there and pretend like you actually give a damn about me!"

"I don't need to pretend anything. I love you."

Nicole felt herself going into a daze. She refused to even look at him. It was way too dangerous. One look into his eyes would be all it took to fall into the trap again so she instead fixed her gave on an itsy bitsy spider she spied crawling around the rim of he bath tub.

"Sweetheart, did someone do this to you,"his voice was full of alarm as his hand reached out to her face and ever-so-gently he stroked the bruised area around her eye with his thumb. "How did this happen?"

[i]Bad move, Nikki,[/i] she scolded herself. She'd been too preoccupied avoiding looking at him that his sneak attack caught her off gaurd. She'd allowed him to touch her. That damn Celine Dion began to taunt her again. [i]But when you touch me like this, and you hold me like that, I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me...[/i] Yes, touching was just as bad. With that lesson learned, she reached up and angrily smacked his hand away. "Look, I'm fine. Just please, do me a favor and get out of here."

"No," he replied firmly, his back sliding down the door as he sank into a sitting position against it, creating a considerable obstacle between Nicole and her freedom. "I'm not going anywhere until you, first, explain to me what happened to your eye and, second, tell me why you refused to return any of my calls."

His statement caused her to shriek out in a hysterical laugh of disbelief. "Really? What calls, EJ?"

"What happened to your eye?"

"Stop avoiding my question. What calls?"

"You're the one who's avoiding the question. I asked you before what happened to your eye? Quid pro quo, my dear."

"Fine, I fell. What calls?"

"What do you mean, 'what calls?' I've been calling and texting you all day long!"

"Well, perhaps you confused my number with the other Nicole in your little black book cuz I got news for you, honey. My phone didn't ring once."

"Well perhaps you should call your carrier and have that checked out because there is only one Nicole DiMera in my book and I know her number by heart, thank you."

"Oh, no my phone is working just fine."

"Really," EJ asked, raising his eyebrows with renewed interest. "So then I guess that means you have no good excuse for not calling me."

"I called you damnit," she screamed at him, frustration finally getting the best of her. "I called you at least a dozen times. You have a lot of fucking nerve coming in here and accusing me of avoiding you."

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to believe. You don't call me, you tell Kate that you're not coming tonight, then when I show up here you refuse to speak to me."

"Why are you lying?" Her anguished scream echoed through the walls of the tiny tiled bathroom walls.

"Sweetheart, I-I'm not, "EJ insisted matter-of-factly, pulling himself to his feet so that he could approach her. He wanted so badly just to take her into his arms and hold her until they got this whole mess sorted out but with each step he took toward her she took two steps back.

"I never told Kate I wasn't coming. You knew damn well I was going to be there. You know, for all of a minute I actually thought that everything was perfect. When you gave that quote that 'behind every great man is a great woman,' I actually pictured us standing up there, arm in arm, grinning at all the Bradys and Hortons who were looking at us in horror. I gotta hand it to ya, you got me good this time."

"No, Nikki, you've got it all wrong. I-I didn't know you were there!"

He was good, she had to give him credit. If she didn't already know him as well as she did he might be able to pull off the panicked, wrongly accused act he was attempting to play.

"Ok, so let me get this straight then. If wasn't about embarrassing me in public, which seems to be what you're getting at, then you want me to believe that you only went with this Patti chick because I stood you up? I'm sorry to tell ya, that doesn't help matters much."

"Darling, I'd never seen or heard of that bloody woman until Kate called her out. Kate told me you weren't coming and she came up with that on her own. It was supposed to be you. I had no idea what was happening until it was too late."

"OK, so I'll play and assume that this is true," she had to take a moment to swallow away the lump in her throat before she could continue. It was as if there was some secret inner battle taking place in which her mind was desperately trying to prevent her voice from asking a question she probably did not want to hear the answer to. "Why didn't you just stop her? If you really cared about me, why would you let her stand up there and convince everybody that I'm no longer a part of your life?" That was it. The tears she'd forbid herself to shed before him instantly flooded her eyes and began rolling down her cheeks. Her composure which she'd prided herself in maintaining during the majority of their conversation so far now came crumbling down around her. Her voice was shaky, emotional, vulnerable. Just as he surely wanted to see her.

"I don't know, I-I was shocked. It wasn't sinking in. I thought everything was going according to plan. I asked her what the hell she was doing and that's when she told me you weren't coming."

"So you just gave in, figuring, oh well, she didn't show up so just go with it?"

"No," he shook his head sadly, the realization was setting in that any bit of trust he'd managed to re-establish with her the night before had been thrown to the wind. "All I could think about was coming to find you and see what happened to make you change your mind."

"But you didn't," she screamed, her face becoming distorted with anger as she filled in the rest of the blanks of what she knew. "You stood up there and let her put her arms around you, and kiss you. And, from what I hear, you went on to finish your speech, smiling all the way through to the end. During which part exactly were you thinking of me?"

"All of it. This was all for you."

"Yeah, to humilate me. Well, congratulations. It was a success."

"Nikki-"

"Just shut up. I don't want to hear anymore. I am so done with you."

"Darling-"

"I'm leaving for Chicago tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready."

"What? Chicago," he said looking confused, repeating the words as if they were completely foreign to him.

"Philip and Chloe will be here any minute to pick me up so you need to go," she said in her most monotonous, unemotional voice, making all attmepts to avoid eye or skin contact as she tried to sneak past him through the door.

"I'm not going anywhere and neither are you."

She could hear the fear and desperation in his voice but it came through most of all in his kiss. He took her completely by surprise, spoiling any opportunity for her to protest. His lips met hers with such a ferocity as if her ability to either stay or go depended on freeing herself from his determined embrace. Pure and natural human instinct allowed her to momentarily kiss him back. It was the resurfacing of her self-taught preservation skills which finally brought her to her senses only, no matter how hard she tried to pull away, he would not surrender his hold on her. A firm hand to the back of her head kept her lips permanently locked on his; his strong arm wrapped around her waist pulled her to him tightly, allowing him to completely possess her. Her hands were one of a few weapons left and she fired fists repeatedly into his chest in hopes that the blows would finally weaken him just enough for her to escape before it was too late. It was her own strength which gave way first. The pounding of her fists went from constant, to intermittent, to non-existent, all in less than ninety seconds. Every bit of resistance drained from her muscles until she was reduced to putty in his arms. It was only once she was in this state he felt it was safe to ease his hold on her. His lips finally departed hers after one last breath-taking draw upon them but soon found their way to her forehead where he planted one sweet little peck.

"Please don't go," he pleaded in a whisper, his warm breath tickling her ear and sending shivers down her spine. "Sweetheart, this is all just a terrible misunderstanding. First thing tomorrow, I'll set the record straight. I want the whole world to know that I love you, and only you."

That was it. It was exactly what she'd always wanted to hear. Somebody not only merely loved her but loved her the most. So why was it that those words turned out to be the most frightening thing she'd ever heard?

When he'd cheated on her with Taylor, before the betrayal even took place, she never was completely sure where she stood with EJ. She'd wanted to believe he'd fallen in love with her again, it had certainly seemed to be heading in that direction, but he hadn't told her as much and he'd never really promised her anything except an opportunity to be close to Sydney.

Now things were much different. He was promising her the world and, if she were allow him to control her fate in such a way, he could just as easily rip that perfect world from beneath her faster than he could serve it up on a silver platter. She could go from having everything to nothing in a matter of minutes and there would be nothing she could do about it. The only thing that would spare her sanity would be to take the proper, preventative precautions. The only way she could truly keep her heart from being ripped to shreds was to run away now and put it to an end on her terms. At least that way she would always know that at the moment she left him, there was no one else in this world that he loved more, or so he claimed...either way, it was as close to the fairytale as she would ever get. She was just going to have to do without her happily-ever-after.

"I'm sorry but, it's just not enough."

"What then? Darling, please," he cupped her face in his hands, refusing to allow her to look away as he pleaded with her, "Tell me what I need to do to convince you to stay and, whatever it is, I'll do it."

"I don't think you can," she replied, shaking her head sadly. "I don't think you have it in you."

"What? What don't I 'have in me?"

"The fight. You know, I think if you had made one, very simple gesture today, it could have prevented all of this from happening."

"Which is?"

"Why didn't you come to me? I mean, did the thought even occur to you when you couldn't reach me on my phone that maybe something had happened to me? No. Instead, you assumed I was avoiding you."

"Oh Nicole, come on, you know that is not fair! I knew you were fine. Mary and David, they were both here with you all day long!"

"What?" She looked at him as if he'd just uttered the most nonsensical thing she'd ever heard.

"They said you were fine. Sweetheart, believe me, there was nowhere I wanted to be more than with you but I thought you understood that I was preparing for tonight. That's why I sent Mary and David to you to help out until this was all over. I suppose I wrong to assume once you saw what I was up to, you'd understand."

"Don't you dare. Don't you sit there and try to make me out to be the unreasonable one with some ridiculous story. I don't think Mary or Dave would appreciate you in involving them in your stupid lies either, just so you don't look like the bad guy."

"I don't know what you're talking about. It's not a lie, I sent them. My father and Kate, they told me you were running around all over town shopping for an outfit, and-and going to the salon." As he watched her shake her head in denial, it all suddenly became clear. He had been played. His father and Kate had fooled him into believing they supported his reunion with Nicole. He should have known they only sought to destroy it instead. He began to laugh maniacally, only because if he didn't laugh he would surely cry instead.

"Oh, so now this is funny?"

"It is actually cuz you see, for a moment I really believed that my father and Kate wanted to see me happy. You gotta admit the level of my stupidity is somewhat entertaining."

"Ah, I see, so now you're blaming your father and Kate for causing you to not do what you should have done in the first place."

"Sweetheart, don't you see? My father and Kate, they set this all up, it has to be. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"I guess I can buy that, if I choose to believe you which you'll be happy to know that I do." His smile in response to her statement was bright enough to warm the entire room and reach the inner depths of her heart. It was a shame that it wasn't going to last. "But you still should have come. I know I couldn't simply take someone else's word for it if I wanted to know if you were OK. I wouldn't believe it until I could see it with my own eyes, or at least hear it directly from you. You just couldn't make the one extra bit of effort to show me how much you care. I can't live the rest of my life that way, always feeling like there is something or someone else more important to you than me."

"But darling, I told you, there is no one more important to me than you."

"Really? What about Johnny and SYdney?"

"Oh, Nicole, come on! They're my children, of course they're at the top of my list. But so are you. You certainly wouldn't expect me to say that I love Johnny more than Sydney, would you? Isn't it entirely possible that I just love all three of you equally?"

"See, that's the thing EJ. You say a lot of things that sound so lovely. You're full of all the words and phrases that I want to hear. What you lack is the action to back them up. You can tell me you love me for the rest of your life. You'll just never be able to prove it."

She was right. He'd never be able to prove it, but not for lack of trying. He was beginning to realize that when it came to Nicole, nothing he did would ever be good enough. She couldn't help the way she felt; she'd been terribly wronged by every single man in her life, himself included, which he supposed should make him more understanding of her position. Instead, he felt himself becoming consumed with rage. He shouldn't direct it at her. It was her father he wanted to pummel into the ground, that bastard Trent whom he now could only wish that he'd killed himself but more than anyone, he was angry with himself. Out of the three he had mentioned, he was the only disaster he could have prevented from happening.

It was now he who needed to get out of there. He needed to go somewhere to explode that was far, far away from Nicole. He could feel the angry words rising to the surface and he knew that given the opportunity, he would use them, with no real intent to hurt her. He just needed to hurt something as badly as he was hurting right now, but he didn't want that something to be her. With that in mind, he stepped aside and opened the batroom door, creating a clear, unobstructed path for her to leave. "Don't let me keep you from missing your flight."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she mumbled under her breath as she grabbed her crutches and hobbled past him through the door. "Just throw in the towel, like you always do." She had already made it well past him which was why when the loud thud and sound of shattering glass came unexpectedly from behind her, she nearly jumped ten feet off the ground.

"Me? You're the one who's always running away!"

Nicole turned around to find that the source of the noise had apparently been his fist smashing her bathroom mirror. There were broken shards of glass littering the floor and the countertop. The part of the mirror which remained intact was smeared in blood, as was his fist. His angry yell shook the walls of her apartment to it's core. Within seconds there was a pounding at her front door.

"Nicole, it's Andrea from next door. I just wanted to let you know I called the cops and they're on their way."

"It's OK," she called out to her neighbor, her voice quavering with emotion. "My guest is just leaving."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," EJ shouted, reigniting the screaming match. "Isn't this what you wanted, hmm? For me to stay here and beg while you play hard to get? Or, perhaps you just want me to follow you all the way to Chicago just so you can spit in my face then send me home empty-handed when I get there."

"Right now all I want is for you to get the hell out so I never have to see you again."

"You think you can hide from me in Chicago, sweetheart?"

"Why do I need to hide? You won't bother to come find me. You've already made it clear I'm not worth the extra effort."

"Well, maybe I just shouldn't let you leave in the first place!"

"Oh, and how do you plan on stopping me?" She set her own trap with that one. It was a good thing she only lived a block away from the police station. She never thought she'd ever be so happy to hear Bo Brady's voice.

"Nicole, is everything all right in there?"

"No," she cried out in desperation, just as EJ grabbed her and was about to lay another mind-numbing kiss on her. "I need your help in here!"

She could hear the door handle jiggling while EJ continued to move in for the kill, completely disregarding the presence of the impending outside interference.

"Can you come and open the door for us?"

She made a minimal effort to free herself from his grasp but it was useless. Like always, his mere touch made her weak. "No, I can't" she finally answered. Within seconds, they had broken through her door. Bo, Rafe, and another young officer she didn't recognize came flying through her door, guns blazing, aiming right at EJ.

"Move away from her, Junior."

EJ backed off, throwing his hands up in surrender for the second time that evening.

"What's going on here, Nicole," Bo asked, stuffing his gun back into his belt before approaching her while the other two kept theirs aimed at EJ.

"He broke in through the balcony, she said, gesturing toward the broken screen. "I've asked him repeatedly to leave and he won't."

"Uh-huh, you two been fighting? Your neighbor reported hearing you both screaming and shouting at each other."

"Yes, because he won't leave!"

"We were just talking," EJ insisted, finally chiming in with his two cents.

"Well it doesn't look like you were just talking to me," Rafe added, acknowledging EJ's bloody fist. "Looks like you been doing a bit of punching too."

"Oh, yeah, the mirror."

"Well from the looks of it, I'd say it was more than the mirror who got it. Is that right, Nicole?"

For a split second she stood there confused, not sure what Rafe was getting at. That's when she remembered her black eye. The old saying was right; everything does happen for a reason. Earlier in the day she never thought she'd be grateful for the bruise she would have to wear for the next few days. Now she realized, it was her salvation. "Right," she agreed, further confirming their accusation by rubbing her bruised eye and conjuring up some phony tears for some added dramatic effect.

"What? Nicole?" EJ shook his head as he stared at her in disbelief.

She couldn't help smiling at him as Bo and crew went to work on him, reading him his Miranda rights as they slapped the cuffs on his wrists and formally charged him with breaking and entering along with assault and battery. She knew the charges wouldn't stick. He was after all, a DiMera and likely he wouldn't even have to spend the night in jail, which was fine. She didn't need him to be locked away for the rest of his life to keep him from her. All she needed was a short enough window to get him away from her until Chloe and Philip arrived to take her to the airport, and then to Chicago. One she was on the plane, she was safe, she was sure of it.

Even though he continued to beg and plead with her from all the way down the hall as the police dragged him from her building by force, as long as she were able to escape, all of his words of desperation' wouldn't amount to a thing by the morning. She'd be in Chicago, and he'd be in Salem and they would both move on and try to forget the whole thing had never even happened. At least most of it, anyway. The one silver lining in all of this was that at the very least, for the rest of her life, she would always remember that his last words to her were, "I love you."  



	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"Dude, I still can't believe you got arrested," Chad DiMera said to EJ as he drove them from the poilce station, where he just posted bail for his big brother, to the DiMera mansion in his beat up 1998 Chevy Blazer. "What the hell happened last night?"

"I really don't wish to talk about it," EJ replied distantly, staring blankly at the streams of rain cascading down his passenger side window, "but, I appreciate you coming to bail me out."

"Yeah, hey, no problem. I'm just sorry I didn't get your message until just a little while ago. I was a...a bit, uh, preoccupied."

"Ah," EJ began, a knowing grin creeping across his face, "in other words, you were banging Melanie, eh? Good for you."

"No, I was not 'banging Melanie," Chad insisted as he reached over to give his bro a hard but playful punch to the upper arm. Although his words denied EJ's suggestion, the lovely shade of crimson his face had turned told a different story.

"I'm sorry, am I being too crass? Let me guess, you prefer to call it, 'making love,' hmm? Look, take some advice from your big brother who's been around the block a time or two. Just say you fucked her brains out and get on with your day. It'll serve you much better than having these delusions of grandeur about being in love."

"Whoa, what the hell is that all about," Chad said, whipping around in his seat, completely taking his eyes off the road to observe his brother's state of well-being as if convinced there was something physically wrong with him. "Bitter much?"

EJ let his head sink back into the seat and inhaled deeply before letting out a long, lingering sigh. ""I'm sorry. I'm you're big brother. I should be offering words of encouragement on your love life, not trying to convince you that women are the root of all evil like father would."

"Speaking of," Chad began as he threw the SUV into park in front of the DiMera mansion's main entrance, "Why didn't you just call him to come bail you out when you couldn't get a hold of me? You two get into a fight or something?"

"Not yet, but you might want to wait for me here. Things are about to get a little noisy."

"Why? What are you going to do?"

EJ couldn't help but chuckle, being quite amused by the look of fear and nervousness on Chad's face. Although he was a DiMera through and through by blood, EJ was't sure his brother would ever be able to adjust to the DiMera lifestyle, which wasn't a bad thing. The further he could distance himself between their father and his little games, the better. He might not be the wisest man when it came to matters of the heart but, where their father was concerned, he was the authority on all things Stefano DiMera and, specifically speaking, on the grief he was capable of causing, even to the ones he loves.

"You're waiting here Chad because I'm not staying long. I'm just going in to get some of my things and then I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Where are you going?"

"I'm moving out. Today."

Before Chad could press for more details, EJ disappeared inside the mansion's front door. Within two minutes, from within his car, even with the radio turned up to a respectable volume, he could hear the shouting coming from within. All he knew was he was glad he wasn't in that room. It was absolutely terrifying to be around either one when they were angry but, EJ especially. It was just like watching the Incredible Hulk only EJ would actually turn red instead of green, which made more sense to begin with...he never could understand why The Hulk turned green. His neck seemed to expand to twice it's original size, complete with veins bulging out from the sides, his face would become completely distorted and beaded with sweat, along with the rest of his body. Upon seeing this transformation in his brother for the first time, he'd made it his own life's goal to never get on EJ's bad side.

He supposed the proper thing to do would be to give them their privacy. He could very well turn up the voume and drown out the remainder of the conversation but then he wouldn't know what he would be dealing with later. EJ was furious with their father about something but, if he wasn't willing to confide in him, how could he help? With that in mind, he stepped out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition to aid in a speedy getaway if need be later on, and quietly crept inside the front door to get a better listen.

Although he'd missed a good portion of the beginning of the argument, it didn't take him long to get the gist of it. Even though the details remained a bit unclear, it seemed Stefano and Kate had butted their noses into his attempt to reconnect with Nicole. He had to admit he was shocked himself to hear her name brought up. As far as he knew they'd barely spoken in months and now, the way EJ was talking, it seemed that they had been close to reconciling their marriage...at least until their father intervened.

So, Stefano and Kate were responsible for bringing in the Millionaire Matchmaker to upstage Nicole. That would explain his own WTF? reaction to hearing the 'news' that she and EJ were 'dating.' She wasn't his type. Aside from not conforming to his physical preferences, i.e. blonde-haired and blue-eyed, she seemed too self-serving and status-minded. EJ himself was quite capable of being the selfish prick in the relationship enough for the both of them. What he needed was someone to provide some balance. He couldn't say he knew Nicole well enough to determine if she was the one but EJ sure seemed to think so, and that was good enough for him. After all, it shouldn't really matter what anyone else thinks. Like his mother had once told him, the heart wants what the heart wants...or something like that.

The argument ended with EJ swearing he would never speak to their father again. Chad couldn't help but laugh, muttering 'yeah right' under his breath. If only he had a nickel for every time one of them said it to the other and then failed to follow through in the short time he'd been introduced to the family. Some people would roll their eyes and call it dysfunctional; he saw it quite differently himself for forgiveness was only possible in the presence of love and the DiMeras loved their own with a vengeance.

For the entire ride back to Chad's apartment, EJ didn't speak a word. The silence carried on from the car and into Chad's studio apartment where he promised he would only spend the night. Tomorrow he would check himself into a hotel until he found other living arrangements. Tonight, although he'd never dare to admit it to anybody, he just didn't want to be alone. It was nice to believe that everybody had at least one person who would always love them no matter what and, right now, Chad seemed to be the only candidate for this position. It was either Chad or the dog and right now, as heartless as it sounded, he didn't even want to look at Winston who was sitting quietly inside the pet carrier placed at his feet by the sofa.

He was half tempted to just leave the dog at the mansion and let Mary take care of him. The last thing he needed was something else to remind him of Nicole...but how could he be reminded if he couldn't learn to forget in the first place? It was a problem which could easily be solved in a little liquid assistance from good ol' Johnnie Walker.

Chad stared at his brother in a mixture of awe and concern as he watched him chug down the contents of his flask in under a minute. There was a brief moment of relief in knowing that at least the liquor was all gone...until EJ reached into his duffel bag and retrieved from within a whole new, unopened bottle of the scotch.

"Can I get you a glass for that," Chad offered eagerly, hoping to dissuede him from drinking from the whole bottle in the same manner as the flask.

"That won't be necessary," EJ said waving him off dismissively, "Mr. Walker won't be staying for long." [i]Walker.[/i] Jesus, was he also going to have to change his preferred brand of scotch just so he wouldn't be reminded of her?

"Dude, instead of drinking yourself into a stupor, why don't you just get on a plane and go to Chicago and work things out with Nicole!" His own words shocked him. He hadn't planned on confronting his bro about Nicole and thus, revealing the fact that he'd been listening in on the argument, but the longer he watched him acting like a complete fool, the more he realized he needed to intervene.

"Why? Just to get to Chicago so she can tell me I didn't fly there fast enough or, the roses I bring her aren't red enough? For the rest of my life, nothing I could do for that woman would ever be good enough. You know, maybe I was being too hard on father. Looks like he was doing me a bloody favor."

"So, what? You have one little fight and you're ready to just throw in the towel?" Chad didn't even know why he was bothering. EJ had already begun slurring his words considerably. There was no sense in trying to reason with a drunk.

"Yep. From this moment on, whatever Nicole Walker does is no longer a concern of mine. If she wants a divorce, she'll get one. First thing in the morning I'll draw up those papers and send them on their merry way. Then she's free to be some other poor fool's problem."

"Yeah, well don't go making any rash decisions right now,"Chad said as he glanced down at his buzzing cell phone to see an incoming call from Melanie. "Look, it's Mel, I gotta pick her up from class. You going to be ok?"

"Chadworth, I've never been more OK in my life. Good riddance to bad rubbish is what I say."

"Right. Well, just do me a favor and lay off the scotch at least until I get back."

"I'm fine. Never been better, actually, so you just run along! You don't want to be late picking up your fair maiden." Chad was already long gone out of the room but EJ didn't seem to realize or care that he no longer had an audience. "Listen to your brother and ditch the car and take the white horse instead. That's what they're all expecting you know. Isn't that right, Nikki," he said, speaking to the picture of Nicole programmed into the cell phone he'd just retrieved from his jacket pocket. "Well, I got some news for you, sweetheart. Prince Charming doesn't do runaways, only the damsels in distress so, good luck with that."

Despite all of his bitter words for his once again estranged wife, he found himself scrolling though his list of contacts until he located one of interest. Without really knowing how or why, or what was to come next, he clicked on and dialed the contact simply known as 'Carlo' from the list. The young man with a thick Italian accent answered almost immediately. "Yes, Mr. DiMera? What can I do for you?"

"Yes, Carlo. I have a business proposition for you. There's someone I need you to keep an eye on for me. How do you feel about moving to the Windy City?"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

October 26th, 2011 One Month Later

Nicole sat on a bench in a quiet part of Chicago's Lincoln Park, balancing a bouncing baby Parker on her lap as she scanned the apartment listings in the morning newspaper. Being that today was officially one month from the date she left Salem, she figured she best not overstay her welcome and begin looking for living arrangements of her own. Although her best friend had been nothing but warm and welcoming to her, she could tell that her bff's hubby-to-be didn't feel quite the same way, even though he was nothing but polite and cordial with her at all times. It wasn't that he thought she was a pest or that she cramped their lifestyle, the few conversations she had overheard he simply stated that as long as she was living under their roof, she'd be left to sit in the guest room most of the time to wallow in her misery and not focusing on moving forward and rebuilding her life like she should. He was right.

The most difficult part would be leaving Parker. Chloe and Philip were two extremely hard-working parents and spent the majority of the day away from home. Before Nicole came to town, the couple's live-in nanny Lillian cared for him solely between the hours of 11 AM, when Chloe left for work, through 7pm and often later until Philip arrived home, at least five days out of the week. She had been more than happy to relieve Lillian of babysitting duties, leaving the nanny free to get many of the other household chores done while she read to him from his book collection, or attempted to show him how to successfully stack one block atop another without letting it fall. Chloe had been absolutely wonderful through this last, extremely emotional month but, if it hadn't been for Parker and the joy that spending time with the little boy brought her, she wasn't sure if she would have made it through.

"Alright buddy, let's see. Beautiful spacious two bedroom in one of Chicago's most historic buildings. Hmmm, historic...in other words, old with elevators that break down all the time. Nope sorry...been there, done that."

Parker began to giggle and coo as if he knew the entire story behind her little inside wisecrack at her former place of residence.

"What a beautiful little boy," a small voice came from in front of her. She looked up to find a young, petite, beguiling brunette standing before her looking down at the pair of them in admiration. "He has such beautiful blue eyes, just like yours. What's his name?"

"Parker," she responded automatically while still considering whether or not to correct the woman's misunderstanding of his relationship to her. [i]What? Of course you do, Nicole. That's just too weird...[/i] she scolded herself. Nonetheless, she found herself simply flashing the girl a friendly smile and keeping mum.

"You're very lucky."

"Thanks," Nicole said passively, too busy battling the guilt she felt for letting the charade carry on. Luckily, the girl seemed to get the hint that she was in no mood to talk and very animatedly waved goodbye to Parker, although completely neglecting Nicole, before going on her merry way.

"Oh, honey," Nicole said as she kissed the top of Parker's head full of wispy brown hair. "Please don't tell your mama that your dear Auntie Nicole is a loony bird. It's bad enough that Lillian won't let her forget that I am a convicted kidnapper. Wait, shit, you didn't hear that," she said, immediately covering his ears as if she believed that he actually understood every bit of what she had been saying.

And then he started to cry. As amusing as it was for her to consider it was because of her revelation that Dear Auntie Nicole had a criminal record, one glance at her watch confirmed what she suspected was the true reason. It was two o'clock, making him right on schedule for his feeding time.

"Whoa man, gotta love those female hormones" she groaned as she pulled his bottle from the little cooler tucked underneath the stroller parked immediately to her right side and offered it to him. [i]Must be a woman's insinct kinda thing[/i] she reasoned as she attempted to inconspicuously rub away the aching in her breasts which began the moment he started to cry. [i]Or, it's just further proof that your Dear Auntie Nicole is completely bonkers.[/i]

"Hey, you two," Chloe greeted them with a huge smile from just a few steps away. "I'm so glad y'all came down to visit me for lunch although, by the looks of it, my little man got a head start on us there," she said with a giggle, bending down to kiss her son on the top of his head and handing Nicole the brown bagged lunch from their favorite little cafe which was right next door to the nightclub.

"He knows what he's doing, this kid. When you want something, you just demand it and you'll get it."

"Yeah, he's exactly like his father that way," Chloe said with a roll of her eyes. So what have you been up to all day."

"Well, we watched The Price Is Right and I explained to Parker precisely where to place the Plinko chip on the board to guarantee a ten thousand dollar cash prize-"

"Fascinating," Chloe interrupted with a chuckle. "And what other educational things have you been teaching my son?"

"We also went over some red flags to avoid in the apartment listings."

"Ah, I see! Apartment hunting? I like what I'm hearing!"

"Gee thanks," Nicole said, sticking out her bottom lip in a feigned, wounded pout.

"Oh, come on, you know that's not what I mean," Chloe said, throwing herself on the bench next to her and giving her a hug. "I'm just glad to finally see you get out and get some fresh air and to stop moping around and get on with your life and forget about that loser once and for all."

"Hey, I haven't moped! I'm not a moper! I'm glad he-who-shall-remain- nameless is out of my life."

Part of what Nicole was saying was true. Chloe never knew another person who was more masterful at putting on a brave face in the face of darkness as Nicole. In fact, Chloe never actually saw her shed a single tear since coming to Chicago but just because they hadn't been seen didn't mean they hadn't been heard and they had been heard nightly for the first two weeks she was there. All attempts to get her to discuss anything in detail had been fruitless. She knew very little other than the fact that Nicole was just plain angry with herself for allowing herself to be, 'played for a fool again,' the details of what that statement involved remaining a mystery to date. At first, she had been very worried about Nicole who, in her opinion at the time, was not dealing with her grief effectively but, thankfully, over the last two weeks she began to notice a remarkable improvement in her demeanor and it finally seemed as if she was ready to move forward. Everyone had their own way of dealing with their challenges and sorrows and although she's always been told that running awy was not the answer, maybe it was for some.

"Well, I am so glad to hear you say that because I heard something very interesting today," Chloe said excitedly as she grabbed hold of Nicole's upper arm and shook it up and down like a shake weight.

"What? What did you hear?"

"OK, you remember that hot, hot guy Nate who is friends with Rocco?" Rocco was the owner of the nightclub where Chloe had her permanent singing gig who also quickly became a good friend of both her and Philip. "You know, the one who owns the Distinguished Gentleman's Club?"

"Oh yeah," Nicole replied, chewing on her bottom lip to prevent herself from allowing a stupid grin from spreading across her face upon recalling his handsomely chiseled face and well-muscled upper body. "What about him?"

"Well, he was there today talking to Rocco and myself and he invited me and Philip to this Masquerade Ball he's hosting at his club Halloween night." Chloe had been long raving to Nicole about how it was her goal to subtly convince Nate to give her a singing gig at the club since the establishment lived up to it's name and was known to be frequented by the rich and famous, many of them being in the music business itself. "And, he was complaining to me about how he doesn't have a date."

"Wait a minute, do people even bring dates to a masquerade ball," Nicole asked, looking confused.

"Who knows. Either way he, uh, asked me if I thought you would say yes."

Her friend's big, toothy grin was so forced and contrived that it was adorable. "And naturally, you told him no, right?"

"Weeeell, not exactly."

"Chloe! What did you do?"

"Well, don't get mad at me yet. I told him I didn't know how you would feel about going out on a date but-"

"But what," Nicole interrupted demandingly.

"I kinda sorta promised him that you would be there."

"Oh, come on! Chloe," Nicole whined sinking back into the bench, nearly knocking heads with the man sitting on the bench behind them. "I don't know if I'm ready to do the dating thing all over again."

"He told me you were the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on," Chloe said giddily with obvious excitement for her friend.

"Ah, quite the charmer, I see. Great. Another one who's all talk and no action."

"Look, I made it absolutely clear that if you came you would be coming alone, unless"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you happen to like the idea of having a date in which I took down his phone number for you to call."

"You know, if I weren't holding your son in my arms I would strangle you right now."

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun! We get to dress all up in costume and wear these really elaborate masks. He showed me some pics from previous years and his guests really take this thing quite seriously. He says it's nearly impossible to identify your friends even unless you've seen their costumes beforehand."

"Ah, see, so what's the point of me even going if no one even knows I'm there in the first place."

"Well, that's what I said to him and that's when he made that comment about you being beautiful. He said there was no way he could be around you and not know you were in the room. He said you smile alone was so bright it would lead him right to you."

"You're kidding me right?"

"Nope. He's got it for you bad. Come on, what's the worst that can happen?"

Nicole let out another exasperated sigh, knowing she'd been defeated. "Alright, I'll do it for you because I love you and you're putting a roof over my head."

"No, I don't want you to do it because of me. I just want to see you go out and have a good time, and laugh...maybe dance a little. At the very least, you can walk away after having your ego stroked by a hot guy for a bit."

"Well, a little stroking can't hurt I suppose," she paused momentarily, carefully considering her next words before she continued. "So are you going to give me his number, or what?"

Chloe shrieked with delight and eagerly read aloud the number which she had programmed into her own phone. "Does this mean you're going to call him," Chloe said, hopping up off the bench after performing a quick check of the time, indicating to her friend that it was time to go back to work.

"Well, yeah! If I'm going to be subjected to this kind of torture for the evening I should at least try to get dinner out of him too, right?"

"Right," Chloe said giggling as she gave her friend a departing hug and her little boy one last kiss on the top of his head. "Now that's more like the Nicole I know."

"OK, but promise me you won't say anything to him if he's there when you go back. I still want to think about it."

"Duly noted," Chloe shouted back over her shoulder, having already begun her way back to the club. "See you later sweetie!"

"Bye," Nicole said cheerily, blowing her friend a kiss that she would not see but hoped would find it's way to her regardless. She was so thankful to have Chloe in her life. It never ceased to amaze her how after all the horrible things they'd done to one another,she managed to find a way to forgive her and forget and let their mutual understanding of one another blossom into a beautiful friendship. It was for her friend, and only for her, that she agreed to any of the nonsense which she proposed. The remaining bit of logic in her brain knew she should go out and get an apartment, find a job, start dating again...but that damn stubborn heart of hers just refused to be on the same page. It was far too wounded to think about even getting out of bed in the morning, let alone live some sort of semblence to a normal life. She supposed over time it would probably give up the fight. It seemed with each and every passing day with no word from EJ, the aching would gradually subside.

The very first thing she had done upon arriving in Chicago was to find a lawyer to draw up divorce papers which she signed and sent for overnight delivery the next morning. She had fully expected this to draw some kind of reaction from EJ but still, nearly a month later, she hadn't heard from him. There were no phone calls, no letters, no nothing. She'd been just as easily forgotten as the day he totally disregarded her and her feelings and slept with Taylor. But that's what she knew would happen, what she had to convince herself had happened. It was easier to believe that then try to understand why if he loved her so much, he didn't come for her. You don't just run away from the people you love, right? [i]Right, Nicole. Only YOU can do that.[/i]

It was distracting thoughts such as these which rendered her completely unaware of the man who had followed her into the park that day, who was the very same man who approached her location on the bench and sat behind her, listening to every word of her conversation with Chloe then followed her home that evening, and whom, at the end of his espionage mission, reported his latest findings to his employer, a very unhappy Mr. EJ DiMera.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

October 31st, 2011

EJ continued to ignore the incessant knocking at the front door of his apartment. He was not expecting anyone nor did he care for any unwelcome company. Besides, he wouldn't be home much longer anyway. The DiMera Enterprises jet was all fueled and otherwise prepared for it's trip to Chicago; all it was waiting on was it's single passenger to arrive.

"Hey bro, you in there? Come on, open up!"

Chad. "Wonderful," EJ grumbled to himself as he concluded packing a small brown leather suitcase on top of his bed. For the entire last month his brother had attached himself to him like some kind of leech, only this leech did not merely thirst for blood...it was something far worse than that. Chad always wanted to know how he was feeling, how he was doing, how was the campaign going? What can he do to help? Have you spoken to our father yet? Did you hear from Nicole? Did you call her? God forbid he hand any idea he was actually about to make a move, he'd never get out the door in time to make it to Chicago and attend the infamous Masquerade Ball.

Quite admittedly, he was taking the cowardly approach. What he should have done was just hop on a plane to Chicago a month ago and avoid all this silliness of sneaking around but the images of Nicole slamming the door in his face playing over and over every time he considered it was just too heartbreaking to bear. It was a miracle that she forgave him for Taylor and just as quickly as she he'd forgiven him he fucked it up all over again. Why would she do anything but give him the boot? This Masquerade Ball opened a whole new window of opportunity.

His biggest challenge with Nicole has always been gaining accessibility to her. If he could actually get near her without having to go so far as kidnapping her, and yes the thought had crossed his mind, he might be able to wear her down. Until then, she would continue to ignore him and hide behind every closed door. If she had any idea he was on his way to Chicago, she'd run off somewhere else. The way he saw it, his only option was a sneak attack.

"I know you're in there."

The lad just didn't know when to quit. EJ considered silently waiting it out until Chad finally got the picture and left but one glance at the time display on his phone informed him there was no time left to waste. Only thing left to do was suck it up and face the music.

With suitcase in hand, he flung the door open and walked directly past his brother without saying so much as a hello.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second! where are you going?"

"I don't have time for a chit-chat," EJ said as he repeatedly mashed the down button on the elevator's control panel. "I'm running late."

"What's with the suitcase? You going out of town?"

"Yes, I am." It was best to keep his response short and sweet and not volunteer any more information than necessary.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Believe it or not, I actually hold a very powerful position with a company called DiMera Enterprises and sometimes I am actually required to do something called 'work' and sometimes this 'work' takes me out of town on some last-minute business."

"Very funny. Look, I'm just a little surprised because I thought you were doing that charity thing tonight in the square. You know, you're never going to win this thing if you keep blowing off these events."

"I see you still have much to learn about being a DiMera," EJ said with a wink to his brother as the elevator doors finally parted open behind him, allowing him to step inside. "Oh, and take care of Winston while I'm away, will you?"

"Yeah, sure, not a problem," Chad grumbled as the elevator door closed between them, giving him no opportunity to decline. "Lord knows I have nothing better to do than take care of your dog." Chad shook his head as he fumbled through his keys until he located the spare key he'd been given to his brother's apartment. The man wasn't used to doing things himself and he didn't put it past EJ to leave without making sure his pet had plenty of food and water.

A quick inspection inside revealed that despite his doubts, Winston's bowls were filled with food and fresh, clean drinking water. In fact, everything inside the apartment seemed to be in perfect order, his bed was made, certain appliances had been unplugged...a closer inspection would find that a timer had been set for his living room lights. Something just didn't seem right.

Not that anything was necessarily wrong...he just knew that EJ had not been straight with him. When they last spoke late the night before, EJ was still planning on making his appearance at the "Horton Town Scare," a Halloween party hosted by University Hospital with all proceeds going to a fund created to make improvements to the children's ward. He'd even agreed to let his brother take him shopping for a costume which had been the sole purpose of his visit this morning. Now, a mere nine hours later, he was running out the door on some so-called, "last-minute business." Whatever this "business" was, he was sure it didn't involve sitting around some table discussing profits and losses. The DiMera way of doing business was anything but conventional.

At this point, now that he knew Winston had a sufficient food supply for at least the rest of the day, he should have just closed up shop and went about attending to the rest of his plans for the day. He and Melanie planned to attend the party as Bella and Jacob from Twilight, only his Jacob was going to be Jacob in full werewolf mode, sporting a t-shirt which says "Edward Sucks." A good buddy of his who was studying to become a special effects makeup artist was going to do his face and a good part of his day was going to be spent having the very complicated process of having layer upon layer of foam rubber and makeup applied. Still, as anxious as he was to get that process going, curiosity got the best of him and he began snooping through his brother's things.

It didn't take him very long to discover the tell-tale piece of paper, sitting right on top of the small stack of papers inside the drawer of the console table which doubled as a desk whenever EJ was working at his laptop. The single page was an informative piece for those who planned to attend some masquerade ball at some club in Chicago. There was also a bunch of information scribbled in pencil at the bottom of the page in his brother's handwriting. The first was a man's name, Nate Warren. There was also an address, written off to the side to disassociate it with the man's name. A google search on his phone told him the address belonged to a Mr. Philip Kiriakis. Another google search of the two telephone numbers also found handwritten on the page informed him that one was for a car and limousine service and the other was for a costume shop. Now it was all beginning to make sense. Although he couldn't make all the puzzle pieces fit, he knew that at least part of, if not all, his purpose of going to Chicago was to see Nicole.

Chad couldn't help but smile for he truly believed that if it hadn't been for him, EJ might not be on a plane right now heading for Chicago. If he'd actually delivered the FedEx letter, as requested by their father, addressed to EJ from Nicole which arrived at the DiMera mansion after he'd just moved out, he might have signed the divorce papers contained within. It was only a couple days after she had left and he had been so angry with her and with the world that he couldn't be trusted to make any sort of rational decision. However, due to the fact that the letter was still buried in a tote in the back of his Blazer, he never knew the papers existed and was now likely on a mission to save his marriage rather than end it. It was about time. He much preferred the EJ that was happy and in love with Nicole to the miserable prick who had been masquerading as his brother for the last month.

EJ sat in the back seat of the car, staring out it's dark tinted windows at the apartment building they were parked along side. It was hard to believe he was just a few feet away from seeing Nicole again yet he couldn't bring himself to get out of the car. According to Carlo, she was indeed inside, as she had not been spotted leaving since returning from a walk with Lady early that morning. A quick glance at his phone display informed him that she was due to emerge for another round any time now. He wouldn't dare to interact with her until later as planned but, for now, he couldn't resist the opportunity to at least see her again, in the flesh.

Over the last month, he'd seen her plenty in his dreams or, nightmares was perhaps was the better term. They all started off beautifully at least. Often times they would be in bed, either making love or cuddling up to one another but they all ended the same. They all ended with him unwittingly doing something to break her heart and her disappearing. In his dreams however, she would completely vanish. No one, not the people closest to her or his most skillful headhunters could locate her, making it seem like she'd literally just fell off the face of the earth, or worse. Thankfully, he knew they were just horrible dreams as Carlo reported several visual spottings a day, often accompanied by a picture or two for further proof. What these dreams really were were warnings from the logical half of his brain which was only able to make it's case and be heard when the stubborn half was asleep, saying [i]If you don't do something about this now, be prepared to lose her forever.[/i]

And just like that, there she was. His heart immediately began to race at twice it's normal speed upon seeing her. She looked absolutely stunning, even in sweats and sneakers and her hair pulled into a loose ponytail. It was all in her face; she looked happy, glowing. [i]No thanks to you,[/i] he reminded himself, suddenly beginning to feel the rage building from within. He'd waited too long. While he'd been busy laying the blame on her and feeling sorry for himself, some other goon had swooped in and began to make his move.

He'd done a lot of research on Mr. Warren over the past few days. His resume was fairly respectable however, just not what he would consider impressive. The guy had money, a bit of notoriety amongst the rich and famous, and was undeniably attractive-all areas in which EJ was strong, equal contender. However, what he didn't have that EJ did is what made him so dangerous. He didn't already have a past with her and he'd never already broken her heart. So far, the score for the day stood at Nathaniel: 1, EJ: 0.

He cursed himself as he watched her disappear around the corner. What was wrong with him? He should just jump out of the car and go to her now, apologizing and begging forgiveness before this guy could even make a play. However, as hard as he willed his body to move, he remained seated in the back seat of the car for the next several hours, until Mr. Warren arrived to escort [i]his[/i] wife to dinner. He'd seen all he needed to see. He now knew what the both of them would be wearing and it was time for a trip to the costume shop to look for an exact match to the costume he'd just seen.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"Are you sure we're not going to be black-balled from the party for not wearing our masks," Nicole playfully asked Nate Warren as her eyes continuously scanned the room full of elaborately costumed guests from her seat at the bar. "You weren't kidding when you said people take this very seriously. It's like 'Eyes Wide Shut' except the women are actually allowed to wear clothes."

The handsome dirty-blonde haired, blue-eyed thirty-nine year old could hardly contain his smile. She was witty, charismatic and absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. "Well, being that I am the only one with any authority to ask someone to leave, I think we're safe. Besides, I don't know how people feel about looking at me personally but no one is going to get too upset over seeing a woman as beautiful as you all night long."

Nicole could feel the color rushing to her face. It had been so incredibly long since she'd been wooed by a stranger or someone she'd just met. In fact, it probably hadn't been since she first met EJ. Of course Nate, unlike the men of Salem, knew nothing of her past, at least not to her knowledge, and that made all the difference. Unless he had taken the time to google her name, he wouldn't know that she was nothing but a lying, manipulative, gold-digging ex-porn star criminal who was still legally married to a lying, oh..and let's not forget cheating, manipulative, filthy rich ex-racecar driving mafia prince. Of course, there would come a time she would have to share, but that was only if and when she decided to do the dating thing again. Tonight she had but two missions; get out of the apartment and have a little fun and help out Chloe in the process. They were the only two reasons she had agreed to it although she didn't let on to Chloe as much. She was far too good a friend to allow Nicole to use herself as a bargaining chip for the singing gig she was after. Nicole didn't see the big deal. It's not like she had to sell her soul to the guy, it was just a little date. The only thing was, she never took into account what she would do if she actually liked the guy and right now, she had goosebumps. They weren't the kind brought on by a chilly wind or a good scare. It had been a very long time since anyone but EJ made her feel like this.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

Nicole snapped out of her little reverie and flashed him a warm, inviting smile as she reached out to cover his hand with hers. "You didn't. I'm sorry, you just caught me a bit off-guard. I-a...I just have a lot on my mind."

"I understand." He paused for a few moments, carefully choosing his next words before he spoke. "I know how difficult it is to go through a divorce. I know it took me a long time before I was able to move on."

"Oh," Nicole said with a gasp, as relieved as she was surprised. "I didn't realize you knew about that."

"Yeah, I kinda dragged it out of Chloe so don't be mad at her. I've been bothering her for a month about asking you out but she kept insisting it wasn't a good idea, until now anyway."

"Oh, no I'm not mad," Nicole insisted. "I'm kinda relieved actually. It's one of those tricky subjects which you know you probably should bring up but, then again, it's pretty much a bonafide buzz-kill so you're afraid to."

"Yeah, been there, done that," he said taking her hand into his and giving it a tight squeeze. "Which was why I thought I'd spare you facing the 'should I or shouldn't I' dilemma. I'm not trying to force you to talk about it. I was actually hoping to help you forget about it, at least for one evening."

"Well, there isn't much to say anyway when it comes to my soon-to-be ex-husband, except that he's a conceited, self-serving, self-absorbed, two-timing jackass."

Neither one noticed, at the time, the costumed man sitting right behind Nicole breaking his glass of scotch right in his hand from the pressure of his grip.

"Well, I never met the guy but I have to add, if he was stupid enough to mistreat you the way he did then he's a fool too."

Finally, there were once again signs of life in the empty hole where her heart had once been. As it turned out, it had still been there all the while, beating just enough to keep her alive. Now, for the first time in a month, it was throbbing in her chest with such a vigor that she actually [i]felt[/i] alive. Chills rushed down her spine, seemingly sending every hair on her body sticking straight out. All of her senses seemed to be heightened. She could now smell his cologne, which incidentally was unmistakably Hugo Boss, the same one that EJ wore, so strongly that it seemed to be the only scent in the room although she hadn't noticed it earlier when they were at dinner. Of course it wasn't until now that Nate began to really step up his game and turn on the charm.

It was the best explanation her brain could come up with anyway. The heart, in the other hand, is the only one who knows what the heart wants and, in this case, it wasn't yearning for the man who was sitting before her. If Nicole had really been in touch with her senses enough to know what it was her heart was trying to say to her, she would have known something was going terribly wrong when it once again went quiet; the very same time that the man sitting behind her got up off of his stool and stormed out of the room.

"I'll show you who's a bloody, selfish...whatever bastard," EJ grumbled from under his mask as he ripped the framed photograph of the club's owner and Nicole's date from the wall, dropping it flat on it's back onto the floor, making one large crack in the glass before completely shattering it to pieces with a stomp of his foot. "You're the one who's a bloody fool if you think you're going to anywhere near my wife!" When he looked up to observe a few unmasked people also in the lobby looking on with alarm, he swiftly scurried back into the main room where he could once again become nearly invisible among the near two hundred disguised guests. He wasn't about to get thrown out before he got what he came for.

Her words however continued to haunt him. [i]She thinks I'm scum...and she's right.[/i] He was all of those horrible terms she had used to describe him. As much as he loved her, he didn't deserve her and perhaps, if he truly cared for her and wanted nothing more than for her to be happy, he should allow her to move on. This last break-up was a prime example of why they should not be together. At least the first two times he broke her heart he recognized he was being a jackass. This time, he'd managed to hurt her without even realizing he was doing anything wrong. That right there was the tell-tale sign that he could never be the man she wanted him to be. However, the 'self-serving' part of him refused to let her go because his survival depended on whether or not she was a part of his life.

He was startled by the loud voice booming through the PA system. He wished he could remove his mask so that the speaker could see the daggers his eyes were shooting at him. It was Mr. Warren, no doubt, even though he was now in full disguise to mystify his guests as if simply putting on a full-face mask could deter them from recognizing the man who had been schmoozing with them all evening. What an idiot.

It was time for the ball to begin. The lights were kept on just long enough for the candle wall sconces to be lit by four men, one covering each wall of the room before congregating in the center to light the twenty-to-thirty-some candles on the massive chandelier with their torches. All artificial lighting was then switched off leaving the room in a dark, eerie glow with the distorted shadows of hundreds of guests dancing across the walls. He immediately recognized the classical tune chosen for the first dance as Strauss' Emperor Waltz; a piece he had grown quite fond of himself while being taught the fine art of ballroom dancing. The music was a touch too loud for his liking, classical music should always fill a room but not overwhelm it but, on this occasion, it would serve him well. This way, no one would hear Nicole's protests when he stole her away from her dance partner.

And that is just what he did. When Nathaniel twirled her around behind his back, he grabbed Nicole by the wrist with one hand and gave Mr. Warren a firm shove in the opposite direction with the other. Once he'd given Nathaniel the old heave-ho, he firmly wrapped his other arm around her waist and hustled her to the opposite end of the dance floor.

Nicole's head was spinning, right along with everything else in the room. What the hell had just happened? Although she already knew the man with whom she was dancing with now wasn't her date, one look up at his mask further confirmed that. The funny thing was, the mask, cloak...everything about the costume was the same. It was the height ratio and the man's build which had changed. Nate was just barely an inch taller than she was in her four-inch heels, making him about 6'2". This guy was 6'4", no doubt...just like EJ. She could tell by the proximity of her lips to his, at least where she imagined they should be hidden beneath the mask.

All at once those senses which faded away a short time ago came flooding back. The pounding of her heart, the smell of the cologne, the chills shooting down her spine, the hairs standing on end...all this combined with the spinning shadows on the walls and the hint of scotch on his breath made her feel drunk herself and completely weak in the arms of the stranger. She didn't even care that his actions had been so ballsy and terribly rude to her date. How could anything be wrong when everything felt so right.

It was no big shock to look through the tiny peepholes for eyes and see those familiar mesmerizing brown eyes staring so lovingly down at her, even in the poor lighting conditions of the room. Would she have really been so calm if some average schmuck had interrupted her dance with Nate? Of course not. No man gets touchy-feely with Nicole without her consent unless he wants to lose his testicles. She couldn't stand that kind of possessiveness in men, thanks to the stellar examples set by her father and Trent who went out of their way to both physically and mentally subdue her when need be. If she had tried to explain to anyone why she left EJ out of the pack of aforementioned losers, they wouldn't understand. In fact, she was sure even she herself had referred to him a 'possessive control-freak' at one time or another but it was more of a term of endearment. He had always been very possessive of her but in a different way. He never treated her as some object reserved for his amusement. He cherished and protected her like a precious piece of treasure...like the one very thing that is so important and dear to you that you wouldn't dare entrust in care of another.

It was EJ. Even if she had been rendered deaf, dumb and blind since the last time she saw him she would have known it. Just the way she felt in his arms alone, like she never need have another care in the world, would have told her. A month ago she was grateful for the presence of the Salem PD to get her out of the very same predicament she was in now. This time however, she was glad the Brady brothers and Rafe were not here to intervene. She didn't need their help, nor anyone else's. Right now, she was exactly where she wanted to be with the man she wanted to be with. EJ DiMera had finally stepped up to the plate and proved he was willing to go the distance for her. So what if it was in a creepy-stalkerish kinda way. It wouldn't be EJ if it was anything less.

She searched for words to say but they wouldn't come. None seemed appropriate enough to describe how she was feeling which was well enough. She could think of much better things to do with her mouth anyway. With that in mind, she threw one arm around his neck and with a finger from her other hand, slid his mask up just enough to expose his lips for the taking.

He at first returned the kiss with every bit of eagerness and desire as her. Every night since she left he dreamed of being in this position; kissing the woman he loved more than anyone in the world while he lovingly held her in his arms. However, in his dreams she was at least aware that she was kissing him and not some other goon who was trying to take his place in her life. As much as he tried to just enjoy the embrace, he couldn't accept the fact that she was only kissing him because she believed he was another man...at least that was what he allowed his fear of rejection to successfully convince him. Over and over again, he imagined what would happen next. She would completely remove his mask and the look of horror and disappointment would clearly convey that she was expecting to see Nathaniel.

Almost as quickly as he spirited her away from the aforementioned Mr. Warren, he was gone. He broke their embrace, spun her around, and by the time she returned to her starting position, he was nowhere to be found.

Although at first he had been appreciative of the overly-loud music which would drown out any cries of protest he wished for no one to hear, the very same music was also preventing him from hearing what could have changed everything that evening...the panicked sound of Nicole's voice calling out to him as she desperately searched for him on the dance floor.

After fruitlessly searching for him inside the main room, she stepped into the well-lit hallway and immediately recognized the mask several feet down the hall standing by the entrance. "EJ,' she sighed, smiling with relief for a brief moment as she ran toward him, until it became disappointingly apparent with each step that it wasn't him. She could tell by the man's build that it was most likely Nate, if not yet another man wearing the same mask, and she deliberately ran fast through the door, hoping to sneak out past him. No such luck. She felt a gentle yet firm grip to her upper arm tugging her backward, strong enough to halt her escape but not dominant enough to forbid passage if she chose to resist, which she did. However, she only got as far outside as the bottom step leading up to the club before she knew she needn't go any further. He was gone.

"You OK," the kind voice asked from behind. It was Nate, now mask-free looking on with concern. "Do you want me to call the police?"

Nicole was still in a daze, staring out into the street, looking around every corner in hopes that EJ would reappear. It took a few seconds for his question to register.

"Police? No, why," she said absently while shaking her head.

"He got in a car and left but you never know if he's going to come back. Look, Chloe told me what he did to you. I don't want him to hurt you. If I had known it was him when he grabbed you I would have called them immediately."

Nicole's heart sank. So it wasn't a dream, it was him, and he'd left her. Again.

"How did you know that was my husband," she asked, pale and visibly shaken though fear had no influence at all over her appearance. It was simply due to another round of hearbreak.

Nate let out a nervous chuckle. "Because on his way out the door, he told me to stay the hell away from his wife."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Philip Kiriakis paused in the doorframe seperating his bedroom from the hallway, then quickly stepped back inside and shut the door behind him making a face of utter disgust that had his wife in hysterics.

"What the hell is the matter with you," Chloe laughed heartily upon seeing his face. "You look like you just stepped in a big pile of-"

"Shaving cream," Philip interrupted, his way of subtly reminding her that their son was still in the room following his morning feeding. "Ugh no, it's even worse than that. I think somebody had a little too much fun last night."

"Meaning?" She couldn't stand all the beating around the bush her hubby-to-be was always so fond of.

"Meaning Nicole is in the bathroom puking her guts out right now. All I can say is thank god we have our own bathroom."

"Oh my god," Chloe said springing from the bed and quickly grabbing the bathrobe hanging over the back of the glider where she typically fed Parker. "So what, you'd rather stand there and poke fun instead of checking to see if she's ok? What's the matter with you?"

She didn't wait for a suitable answer because she knew she wouldn't get one. In fact she was quite sure that she'd have gotten a more mature response from Parker than his father when it came to these things.

"What, so she had one too many martinis! Big deal." Philip then knew it was time to stop talking from the disapproving look Chloe gave him. To avoid getting in any more trouble than he surely was already he returned to their bedroom until it was safe to venture out again.

"Honey, are you all right," she asked, softly rapping her knuckles against the partially opened bathroom door. "Can I come in?"

Just then the door swung open to reveal a very pale-faced Nicole, aside from the sightly visible red puffiness around her eyes which informed Chloe she had also been crying.

"I'm fine," Nicole said, forcing a smile as she attempted to pass by her friend. "Nothing a little hangover helper won't cure." Truth was, after only two drinks, she was hardly hungover but, if she could sell that to Chloe it would make life a whole lot easier. If she told her friend she spent half of the night up, crying in bed over EJ to the point which she made herself physically ill, her best explanation for the vomiting anyway, Chloe would have her pronounced mentally ill as well and have her thrown in the loony bin.

"Wow, you two must have done some serious partying after Philip and I left. Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah," Nicole said with such forced enthusiasm she made herself cringe. Her following attempt to tone it down only made things worse, for the words came out too flat and monotonous. "We had a great time."

"Uh-huh," Chloe replied staring her down with hands on hips. "Liar."

"I'm not lying," Nicole said, throwing her hands in the air as she attempted to scoot by her. "We had a very nice time. Nate is a great guy."

"Then why were you crying? Something happened."

Nicole would have been perfectly content to go and cry alone in her room some more. Not that she would be entirely alone; Lady had been there last night, non-judgmentally listening as usual and surely silently agreeing with every derogatory statement she made about EJ. Her lack of interest in discussing the incident with Chloe wasn't for fear that she wouldn't have her back; Chloe was just as eager as most to jump on the anti-EJ and Nicole bandwagon when she felt her friend was being mistreated but, she didn't like to lie to Chloe. She, like everybody else except for the only two who really knew what happened that night she left Salem, only had the black and white version of what happened. She had never discussed the details of their nasty break-up, not even the very night she called Chloe begging for her help. She had left it up to her friend to draw her own conclusions read from the online article in the Salem Spectator the following day and neither confirmed or denied any speculation made.

Now, if she were to tell Chloe about the EJ incident, she would have to explain everything from the very beginning in god's honest truth or to the psych ward she would surely go. She had already humilated herself enough last night by having to come clean with Nate before he sent the entire Chicago PD on a manhunt for EJ.

[i]Crap.[/i] That's right, she'd told Nate everything. It was only a matter of time before it got back to Chloe anyway. Although Nate had been so sweet and non-judgmental and promised to keep everything confidential, she suspected it was a promise he could not keep. He reminded her so much of Brady with that big-brother protectiveness every girl wishes she had. Even though she had admitted and made it clear that she wasn't ready for a new man in her life, he wasn't about to back-off without at least knowing she had someone to lean on. He had been shocked to learn that even Chloe didn't know the truth. She was now sure that whether she wanted it to or not, that was about to change.

"Hey," Chloe said, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a gentle shake to coax her out of the trance-like stage she was in while consumed by her thoughts. "Sweetie, tell me what happened."

Nicole took a deep breath and gave herself one last failed attempt at a mental pep-talk to remain strong before breaking down and sobbing in her friend's arms, spilling every single detail of the EJ and Nicole saga spanning the entire last year in complete accuracy. She began with his unexpected appearance at the ball last night, filling in all the missing pieces which explained why she had been delighted by the surprise as opposed to being fearful, as most would have expected based on the version of events they knew.

Chloe held her friend tight, stroking her hair for comfort just like she did with Parker on those occasions when there was no known cause for his cries and she didn't know exactly the right thing to say or do to make him feel better. Not that she didn't have plenty to say at the moment, but now was not the appropriate time to share her own thoughts on EJ DiMera. Maybe there never would be a right time to tell Nicole she could do so much better. You can't tell somebody who they should or shouldn't be in love with. The beautiful thing about really, truly being in love with someone is that you just love them without having to explain why. In fact, any attempt to express how much falls flat because it is just too profound for words to express. The only thing which even comes close is a display of raw emotion, and that could be anything from making love, to a passionate kiss, to the agonizing pain of a love that was lost like her friend was feeling right now.

This kind of love was not limited to romantic relationships. In fact, the very best example she could give was her own love for her son. No former relationship in her life of any variety could compare with the way she felt about Parker, but many others came close and her friendship with Nicole was one of them. It was only because she loved her friend so much and sought to ease her suffering that she found herself doing the unimaginable...she was beginning to pull for EJ.

"OK, so let me get this straight, so EJ shows up at this party out-of-the-blue, you're ready to forgive and forget, but then he just takes off again and you think it's because he thinks you and Nate are a thing."

"Yeah, well you know EJ," Nicole said between sobs, dabbing at her eyes with an already tear-saturated tissue. "Always assuming the worst."

"And you're sure it was him?"

"I kissed him, Chloe. Yes, I'm sure."

"But you're thinking he didn't realize you knew and you thought he was Nate? How is that even possible? It's like mistaking Laurel for Hardy, they're built nothing alike."

"I don't know. All I know was he was angry as hell when he left and he threatened Nate to stay away from me."

"So what now? What is it you want? Do you want to get back together with him?"

"All I wanted was for him to come to me. I wanted him to come find me, and take me in his arms and tell me everything is going to be all right. Just tell me that whatever happens, we can get through it. I wanted him to promise that he'll never give up on me. To prove that he's willing to fight for me. You know, for a minute I thought I had gotten my wish...but then he left me again."

[i]Oh my god, are you listening to yourself? Are you seriously condemning the man for doing exactly the same thing you're doing?[/i] That's what she wanted to say to Nicole while shaking her and smacking some sense into her at the same time. Experience however reminded her she would get nowehere using that kind of approach with her friend.

"So, what does that mean? Game over, he loses again?"

"Chloe, he walked away."

"Yes, because he misunderstood the situation. So don't you think if you went and explained things to him that you could work things out?"

"Probably...but you're missing my point. All I wanted was proof that he's not going to just run away when the going gets tough."

[i]Oh, I get it. So, EJ has to put all the work into the relationship while you sit back and reap in the benefits. Nope. Better not say that. Well, maybe just reword it a little...[/i]

"Did you ever stop to consider that maybe EJ's not made of steel? Don't you think it's possible that he's just as vulnerable to having his heart squashed as you are?"

"Nope, impossible. EJ doesn't have a heart."

Chloe could tell by the stone-cold gaze which had taken over Nicole's eyes that any further attempts to sway her opinion of EJ would be futile. She refused to back down from her position and it was this, 'my way or the highway' attitude which would ultimately be the fall of Nicole Walker DiMera.

EJ wasn't the first, and surely wouldn't be the last man that Nicole ran away from. Most of them had been for good reason, but others like Brady, Eric, and now, EJ, were all deliberately pushed away, just so that she could spare herself the pain of being rejected by these men who, thanks to the likes of her father and Trent, she believed were surely too good to spend the rest of their lives shacked up with a tramp like herself, and she would forever be left waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for them to find multiple women upon women who were far more worthy than herself of their attention. Of course they'd come home eventually, when there was no one better to amuse themselves with inbetween. Good ol' Nicole would be there waiting to give them a nice roll in ze hay...it was all she was good for. At least in the world according to Nicole.

Chloe had a lot of work on her hands. As if spending the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday at the Kiriakis mansion wasn't bad enough, she now had to add paying a visit to EJ to the list of things to do while in Salem. Still, as obnoxious and stubborn as he was known to be and as crazy as the notion sounded, in this case, EJ was the more reasonable of the two, if one could imagine that, and she was hopeful she'd be able to make more headway with him than Nicole. Hopeful? Yes. Optimistic? No.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

November 7th, 2011 Salem

"Where the hell have you been," Chad DiMera demanded as he barged into his brother's apartment unannounced after hearing through the grapevine that EJ had been spotted back in town that day. "You better be giving me some good news bro 'cause otherwise there's no excuse for you not returning my calls."

"What am I your girlfriend," he teased as he pulled a comb through his hair a few times before turning his focus on the knot of his tie. "I'm a grown man, Chad. I don't need to report to you every five minutes."

"Dude, all I asked for was one call to see if you were all right. You told me you were going out of town for a few days, you didn't say it was going to be over a week."

"I had to revise my plans a bit."

"I see," Chad said as he slowly began fitting the pieces together based on the evidence in the room. The dining room table was set for a candlelit dinner for two with a huge bouquet of fresh-cut flowers for a centerpiece. Two bottles of wine, one white Zinfandel on ice and one Pinot Noir at room temperature were ready to be served based on one's preference. The only thing missing was the main course and a date. Chad was sure he at least had figured out the latter of the two. "Got a bit sidetracked in Chicago, did you?"

EJ looked puzzled for a moment as he didn't recall ever mentioning to Chad where he was going. "No, as it turned out I wasn't needed in Chicago after all. Just as well I suppose since the weather there is bloody awful this time of year. I ended up going to Los Angeles."

"LA? Why, what's in LA?"

"You ask the wrong questions baby brother," EJ said with sly grin. "It's not what is in LA, but who."

"Nicole? What, did she move to LA?"

EJ looked as confused and disappointed as a seven year old who was just told there wasn't a Santa Claus. "Nicole? What does any of this have to do with Nicole?"

[i]Everything,[/i] He wanted to say, and his brother's poor attempt at being non-chalant at the mention of her name was a dead giveaway that he was right. Perhaps EJ was just toying with him and any second Nicole would come running out of the bedroom and the two would have their kicks pointing at him while laughing about how they managed to pull a good one on him. A nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach however tried to warn him this was just nothing more than wishful thinking.

"Well, I don't know, you got me. Who then?"

"Well, while I was out there on business, I just happened to run into Miss Patricia Stanger-"

"That Millionaire Matchmaker chick that was at the dedication of the town square?"

"Yes, she-"

"The one who caused all the problems between you and Nicole?"

"No, the only one who caused problems between me and Nicole, is Nicole."

"So, what? You're going to tell me that you and this Patti chick are a thing now?"

"Patricia is actually a very lovely woman and after spending some time with her in Los Angeles, yes, we have decided to start seeing one another."

The average Joe would have fell for EJ's version of events hook, line, and sinker. He was a professional after all...bullshitter, that is. Most people saw only that side of EJ; the phony, overly-confident, smooth-talking EJ who could pat you on the back and look you in the eye and tell you he's not a crook as he's picking the wallet right from your back pocket. Only a very select small few caught the occasional glimpse of the real EJ and even fewer were able to lure him from out of his shell. When he was with Johnny and Sydney, he was a completely different man. In fact, there was only one other person in the world besides his children for whom he'd displayed real, genuine emotion for, even if that emotion was nothing but an agonizing pain visible in his eyes at the mere mention of her name. Nicole.

"You're not being straight with me."

"Really," EJ said with that infamous accusatory tone, accented with a hint of amusement, he always used as a last resort whe he knew he was being backed into a corner. It was a last-ditch effort to try to convince you that you were the one who was being ridiculous. "So why is it you think I'm not being straight with you, hmmm? What kind of top-secret assignment do you think I was on?" He sat on the back of the sofa, arms crossed defensively over his chest, staring at Chad as if he were a school principal speaking to an unruly student caught spreading some vicious rumor.

I think you went to Chicago to try to patch things up with Nicole, she blew you off so you decide you're going to use Patti to make her jealous. Am I close?"

"Not even remotely," EJ grumbled agitatedly as he absent-mindedly began fumbling with his cell phone. " I don't know where all of this talk about Nicole is coming from. She's moved on and so have I and that's all there is to it."

"Ah, now I get it. So she didn't blow you off, did she? In fact, I'll bet you anything that you didn't even talk to her. You got all the way to Chicago, found her with another man, and now you're trying to convince yourself and her that you can move on too with somebody who is so not your type it's not even funny. "

"You know, you really are an annoying little prick."

Chad couldn't help his satisfied grin. It was as close to an admission as he was going to get. "Yeah, I get that a lot. People tell me I'm beginning to take after my big brother."

EJ forced a chuckle and half-smile, then placed his hands on his brother's shoulders and stared him solemnly in the eyes. "Do yourself a favor. When it coes to matters of the heart, you see what I do and you do the opposite. Believe me Chad, you don't want to be like me."

"Yeah well you're my big bro and I'm always going to look up to you know matter what so, if you don't like the example you're setting for me, then why don't you do something about it."

"I can't change who I am."

"Exactly. So, stop trying. Believe it or not, you already have lots of people in your life who love you just the way you are. We may want to kill you at times, but we love ya."

"Right. I can't even say Johnny and Sydney feel that way about me. I'm limited to you, my mother, and our father. I'm sorry to disappoint but I have no intentions of marrying any one of you."

"What about your wife?"

"In case you haven't noticed, my 'wife' is living in another state."

"Yeah, but she's still your wife."

"It doesn't mean a thing. She left, she's through with me."

"So why don't you two just make it final?"

Finally, a question EJ didn't have a response for. Not one that he cared to share anyway.

"It's all right. I'm not going to make you answer that. Let me just leave you with this thought. I may not know Nicole as well as you do, but I think we've both seen what she's capable of. I always thought the two of you were such a great match because you both go above and beyond to get what you want. So don't you think that if she wanted a divorce, she would have asked for it by now?"

EJ remained silent as he watched his brother leave his apartment looking quite satisfied with himself. How was it that this punk kid who had a total of three girlfriends in his life be so full of profound marital advice? Advice that might help two more reasonable people sort out their problems, but not him and Nicole. Who knows, maybe Chad was in cahoots with Nicole. Maybe this obsession he had over them reuniting was nothing more than an elaborate ploy concocted by the scheme queen herself so that she could exact her revenge on him and the entire DiMera family. She was simply waiting patiently for him to cave...waiting for him to come back begging and then laugh in his face. Well, he wasn't about to give her any such opportunity. She had clearly moved on and now, so was he, and, he would draw up the divorce papers himself to prove it. Something that he intended to get right on...tomorrow anyway. 


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

November 23rd, 2011 Salem

"I was hoping I might find you here."

EJ looked up to place the familiar voice with the face which escaped him. It was Chloe Lane. As beautiful as the woman admittedly was he had never taken an interest to her before. Now, he eagerly invited her to sit down and join him at the small table for two near the bar of the Cheatin' Heart, swiftly stuffing his cell phone back into his jacket pocket to offer her his undivided attention.

"Chloe. What can I do for you?" It sounded good. Neat, professional, cordial...and he managed not to mention Nicole's name.

"I want to talk to you about Halloween."

He tried to maintain his poker face. "All right, well Halloween...sort of a silly holiday if you ask me. I mean, why go out begging for candy when-"

She didn't even have to command her her pointy-toed shoe to kick him in the shin...she was sure it acted all on it's own accord.

"Ow, what the-"

"Don't you dare play stupid with me. I know you know what I'm talking about!"

"Ah, I see Nicole sent out her little protector. Let me guess, you're here to get the big bad wolf to back off of her little boyfriend."

"Nate's not scared of you, but he's also not her boyfriend. If you would've stuck around long enough you might have figured that out for yourself."

"Yeah, well I saw all I needed to see, thank you so now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date this evening." Before he could fully straighten his knees into a standing position she pushed him right back down into his chair."How 'bout you let me tell you what I saw. I had to watch Nicole bawling her eyes out for the next three days because of you."

"Really? Nicole being overly emotional? How unlike her." He surprised even himself at how cool and callous he could remain under pressure.

"She knew it was you, you know."

"Well, obviously, or we wouldn't be having this little conversation now, would we?" He pulled the cell phone from his pocket and busily began typing a text message which was never intended for any person in particular, nor to be sent. He just needed something, anything, to distract himself from the unpleasant topic of discussion.

"I'm not talking about what you said to Nate. I'm talking about the kiss."

Chloe knew she had finally struck the right nerve. His face grew pale and for the first time that night, he was at a loss for a sarcastic comeback. In fact, he seemed at a loss for words all together and instead seemed to be focused on swallowing back several large lumps in his throat.

"She knew it was you. She was so happy it was you. But you...you were too insecure to believe it so, what did you do? You made a bad situation worse. You know, if you would have given her the chance she would have taken you back. But now-"

"Now, what?" His eyes were so full of desperation, regret, and sorrow that she almost felt bad for him. Almost.

"Now, I'm just here to deliver these personally," she said, tossing a large manila envelope containing Nicole's signed half of a fresh set of divorce papers in front of him. "You know, since you failed to sign the last ones she sent."

"You're mistaken. Nicole never sent me any papers."

"It's OK, I get it...these things happen. Stuff gets lost in the mail all the time." Chloe bit her lip to contain the smile trying to escape her as she watched EJ's face grow an even whiter shade of pale upon investigating the contents of the envelope. "Here, I have a pen," she said, throwing a cheap black Bic Stic pen his way. "You just go right on and sign away."

"In case you have forgotten, I'm a lawyer. I don't sign anything without reading it first."

"Well, how 'bout I just give you a quick synopsis. She's not asking you for anything except her freedom so just sign the damn papers.

"We are talking about the same person, right? Nicole Walker?"

"Um, still Nicole Walker DiMera...but she doesn't have to be for much longer if you just sign. I figured you'd be anxious to free up the Mrs. EJ DiMera title once again. You and Patti make an adorable couple. I imagine you must be speaking to your father and Kate again now since you started seeing Patti for real, right? Who knows where you'd be today if they didn't intervene and introduce you to your dream girl. You must be eternally grateful."

"I will have my lawyer look them over after the holiday, and then I will sign them and have them returned to Nicole. Now, is there anything else." He began to pray for some secret trap door to open up beneath her and swallow her whole.

"Yeah, well, whatever you do EJ, just don't wait. The longer you wait to do something, the harder it is to do. But you know all about that, don't you?"

"Nice job, Nikki," he grumbled quietly to himself after Chloe excused herself from the table without notice. "You've got an entire army working for you, eh?"

That's right, EJ. Remember, this is just a game. What probably happened was, Chad had reported the details of their conversation back to her so she sent Chloe to deliver the papers, thinking this would be the thing to send him running back to Chicago to beg her for another chance. He begin to laugh as he thumbed through the pages, fully expecting to find that they were drawn up at some DIY divorce home kit. Closer inspection would show they were perfectly legit and, just as Chloe promised, she wasn't asking for a thing, and she swore to each of the statements by signing her name below.

His fingertips traced the strokes her pen left behind as he stared down at what was the begining of an end for EJ and Nicole in disbelief. A closer look found parts of her signature were blurred, and not just on the first page, but every other page thereafter. It was the kind of smudge caused by a drop of water but he knew that in this case it hadn't been water but, a tear. Just like the fresh one which just fell from his own cheek onto the very same spot of her name.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

December 22, 2011 Morning Salem

"I can't believe you put off all your Christmas shopping 'til today," Melanie Jonas groaned while she playfully pounded the chest of her boyfriend Chad DiMera as they waited in the long line of fellow last-minute shoppers winding through the town's new book store. "All for a book you could have ordered online and have shipped right to your door like, weeks ago. And really, do you think your father really needs a book on playing chess?"

"It's not for him, it's for me."

"Are you kidding me," she said, staring up at him in utter disbelief. "Didn't you just finish telling me you have gifts left to get and now you're shopping for yourself?"

"I need ideas," Chad replied distractedly as he skimmed through the pages of the book.

"You need ideas so you consult a manual on how to play chess? How about just asking your girlfriend?"

"Fine," Chad replied shortly, snapping the book to a close. "I need a gift for my brother. Since you know him so well, what does your brilliant little mind suggest?"

"A case of booze? How the hell should I know!"

"I rest my case."

"Well god, the guy has everything! What in the world could you possibly get him that he doesn't already have?"

Chad shook his head and tossed the book onto a nearby table and began to head for the door. Melanie threw her arms into the air in frustration and swiftly followed behind.

"Hey, wait a minute, I'm sorry, geez!" She grabbed a handful of his coat and tugged from behind as he continued to walk away. "I just thought that we were going to be done with shopping today and that we could just spend some time doing fun, Christmasey things together. I didn't mean to be a brat." She was relieved to see a smile on his face when he spun around and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"It's all right, I'm not mad. You're right. You know, he already told me not to even bother."

"See! He's your big brother, he wants to be the one looking out for you, not the other way around...and he knows how poor you are since you nobly refused to partake in your share of the DiMera family fortune."

"Maybe so, but there are a few perks to being a DiMera I don't mind taking advantage of at times." A sly grin swept across his face as he pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket and began scrolling through his list of contacts.

"Really? Such as?"

"Ever been to Chicago at Christmas time?"

"Chicago?" Melanie's face lit up at the mere mention of the city. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I thought we might borrow the jet and fly on out there for an evening. We can see all the lights of the Magnificent Mile and do a little dinner and dancing. Maybe find a nice little place by the lake to spend the night. What do you say?"

"Oh my god, it sounds lovely, but-"

"But what?"

"Well, they keep talking about that big blizzard on the news. Snow in record-breaking proportions! I don't want to get stuck there. Not during Christmas."

"It's not supposed to hit us 'til Christmas Eve. We'll be back long before then. Come on, what do ya say?"

"I say when do we leave?"

Chad watched her adoringly as she skipped excitedly all the way back to his car and felt only a slight twinge of guilt knowing that entertaining his girlfriend was only second on his agenda of things to do in Chicago. Yep, all of the skeptics were right. He was becoming more and more like EJ every single day.

****************************************************************  
December 22, 2011 morning Chicago

"Honey, I wish you would just reconsider and come to Salem with us," Chloe pleaded with Nicole as sat on the edge of her bed and soothingly rubbed her friend's back. Nicole's little dog Lady lay right in front of her owner, seeming sharing equal concern. "I absolutely hate the idea of leaving you here alone like this, especially when you're sick."

"I am going to be fine," Nicole said, assuredly enough to convince herself maybe, but not Chloe.

"Yeah, but you're not fine. You haven't been fine in a while. I'm really, really worried about you."

"Oh my god, Chloe, please, I'm not dying, all right? I told you, it's just depression. After the holidays, when you get back and everything is back to normal, I promise you I will go and see a doctor and, trust me... all they're going to tell me is that I need to just get over it all ready and move on."

"Nic, please don't wait too long. Believe me, I know from experience...you may think it's one thing and then the next thing you know, they're using the "C" word with you."

Nicole pulled herself into a sitting position, then cupped Chloe's concerned face in her hands and peered into her eyes as she assuredly informed her, "I do not have cancer."

"I didn't know I-"

"Shhh-" Nicole interrupted her firmly. "You and Philip and Parker are going to go to Salem and have a great time visiting with Jolly ol' Saint Vic, and then when you get back, I promise you I will go see somebody."

"You know, I would be forever grateful if you gave me a reason to not stay at that mansion. You and I can stay at the Inn and Philip and Parker can stay there. Who knows, maybe you'll bump into EJ and you can just get him to sign those damn papers all ready. No wonder you can't move forward."

Chloe watched helplessly as Nicole quickly threw herself across her lap to grab the bucket sitting right by her night stand, then proceeded to vomit into it; a routine repeated several times daily over the course of the last month and a half.

"You poor thing. You ok," she felt safe to ask after a good minute went by without Nicole losing any more of her breakfast.

"And that's just from mentioning his name. There is no way I am setting foot anywhere near that town. Look, it's just a few days. I'll be fine until then."

"Yeah but don't forget about that blizzard. We might be stranded in Salem for a few days, or what if you got really sick and they couldn't get to you?"

"Isn't that why you're making Lillian stay here? Poor woman, could be going home to Poland to be with her own family for the holidays and you're making her stay here to babysit the kidnapper. I'll bet that was an interesting phone call home."

"Yeah, well, believe it or not she's just as worried about you."

"Sweetie, I love ya, but you're really getting on my nerves right now. Go on and get out of dodge and have yourself a merry little Christmas with Philip and that sweet, sweet little boy."

"I love you too," Chloe said, wrapping Nicole in a big bear hug and giving her a peck on the cheek. "Promise you'll call me every day."

"Promise," Nicole said cheerily, although already feeling secretly heartbroken as she watched Chloe disappear at her bedroom door. She remained quiet and still in her bed, her only movement coming from softly petting Lady's little head as she listened for Chloe and family to make their final exit. Once she was sure they were out the door, she propped herself up in bed and pulled her laptop from on top of the nightstand and began to put her fingers to work. Lady immediately jumped in to investigate what she was up to as well.

google was the first page she brought up. "Nausea, fatigue" she carefully pronounced each word at the same rate at which she typed it into the search field. There were thousands of search results with pages upon pages of possible diagnoses, a hypochondriac's dream. "Food poisoning? Nope. Flu? I don't think so." When she got to number seven, she let out a loud, hearty laugh. "Ah, pregnancy! Well, we sure don't need to worry about that, huh Lady?"

Nicole frowned as she turned her focus back to scouring through dozens of possible ailments until she managed to convince herself best-case scenario she had some form of hepatitis. Most likely however, it was the big C. Not that any list of symptoms she read screamed that she had cancer; it was that it would be just her kind of luck. "My god, I'm dying," she whimpered, curling herself up into a ball as her mind began conjuring up images of her in some cold and alien hospital room, hooked up to various intimidating life-saving machines as she lay slowly dying in pain all by her lonesome. The scenario was however considerably less frightening than the one in which she refused to let her brain entertain even for just a second; the possibility that she could be pregnant.  



	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

December 23, 2011 Afternoon Chicago

Nicole was promptly awaken from her afternoon nap by the usual need to sprint to the bathroom. The wastebasket at her bedside was reserved for emergencies only and since it was far more repulsive to actually clean up the mess than it was to go through the act of vomiting itself, she always strived to make it to puke in the toilet on time.

Once she was sure the episode had ceased, for the time being at least, she began to freshen up at the sink, starting with giving her face a refreshing splash of cold water. Faintly over the sound of the running water came the sound of the doorbell. She ignored it at first, assuming that whoever it was that A)It wasn't for her, and B), Lillian would be there to answer. When it chimed again just a few moments later, she screamed out to Lillian.

"Lillian, do you hear the doorbell?" The Kiriakis' maid was known to be jamming to polka music on her ipod during her downtime. Yep, you heard it right, polka music.

"Lillian!" Nicole ventured into the hallway and now heard a voice coming from beyond the door.

"Nicole, is that you?"

She knew the voice although she could not immediately place it. She softly crept up to the peephole, being careful to remain quiet in the event it was an unwelcome guest she chose to discourage away by keeping her silence. If she had given herself time to analyze the situation before reacting, she probably would have turned away. However, shock and curiosity got the better of her and she decided to open the door.

"Chad. What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Nicole," He smiled fondly at her, the way one would at his brother's beloved wife whom he also happened to have just a teeny bit of a crush on. He'd always found it odd how after all the awkwardness of the whole baby-swapping scenario that he came to not only forgive or simply just be able to tolerate Nicole, but actually grew to love and accept her as part of the family. Why not, she fit right in with the DiMeras...it was himself who felt like he was the Marilyn among the Munsters when it came to his family.

"I hope you don't mind me stopping by. I brought Melanie here to see the lights and I wanted to stop by and see you."

"Been spending a lot of time with EJ, I see," she said, folding her arms across her chest as she gave him a knowing look."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're beginning to lie just like him."

Chad began to blush. He knew he was thinking more and more like a DiMera when the accusation of a lie sounded more like a compliment. Especially coming from Nicole.

"Alright, fine. I came to Chicago to see you."

"Amazing. It looks and talks just like it's sibling yet this little creature still has the uncanny capability of telling the truth. Come in. Have a seat."

"Thanks," he said, sinking down into the sofa next to her nervously. The pressure was on. One stupid word or sentence could blow the entire operation. "So, how have you been?"

"Look Chad, I appreciate the courteousness, but let's cut to the chase. What do you want and who sent you here?"

"Nobody sent me. I wanted to talk to you."

Her eyes narrowed as she carefully studied his every movement and facial expression for signs of deception.

"Why?"

"Because I want to know if you're still in love with my brother."

"No," she answered, much too quickly by her own assessment.

"Liar."

She felt her stomach becoming a cocktail of knots and butterflies. It was bad enough she'd had to endure this once already with Chloe. At least Chloe was on her side.

"Why do you care," she found herself snapping back with marked agitation.

"Because I love my brother and my brother loves you."

"Let me guess. Patti left him?"

"Oh, Nicole come on. The whole Patti thing was a joke designed to make you jealous and you know it."

"Well, you can only be jealous of those you envy. I pity the poor fool who sleeps with your brother."

"Yeah, well Patti is no fool and she didn't fall for it. She said it's pretty damn obvious his heart still belongs to someone else."

"Ooooh ooooh, let me guess...me!" The exaggerated roll of her eyes well-complimented the sarcastic comment.

"Yeah, you."

"And I suppose I'm supposed to believe that he just poured his heart out to you, lamenting over the loss of the greatest love of his life."

"Yeah, right. No, you know EJ. He just gets that pained look in his eyes whenever someone mentions your name, and then he'll do that thing where he deliberately says something rude about you, just so he can try to convince himself that he doesn't miss you like crazy."

She imagined the lumps forming in her throat were probably tumors from whatever horrible form of cancer it was that she had, and not due in any way to her fretting over the idea of EJ being in pain.

"I go over and hang with him lots of nights, you know, cuz I worry about him. He's been drinking a lot and ever since Chloe brought those divorce papers...I've never seen him like that."

"Like what," Nicole asked in barely a whisper.

"I pretty much stick around most nights until he falls asleep, you know...just to keep an eye on him. He'll go into his room and I'll stay out in the living room and sometimes I think he forgets that I'm still there because I can hear him."

"Hear him what?"

"Well, it usually just starts out with him smashing things, and then he'll cuss our father and Kate and himself too. First time I heard it I got really scared cuz then all of a sudden it got so quiet. I swear my heart was beating a mile a minute cuz I thought that maybe he'd done something." The look in her eyes said it all. There was no longer any question in his mind whether or not she loved his brother. It was written all over her face.

She wanted to press for further details but her voice escaped her.

"Then as I got closer to the door I could hear him whispering. At first I thought he was talking to someone on the phone but when I peeked in I saw that he had this picture in his arms, and he was talking to it. He kept saying how sorry he was and how he'd do anything to take back how much he'd hurt whoever it was he was talking to. I didn't stick around for the whole convo...that would have been a bit awkward and intrusive of me so I just sat down for a bit and went to check on him again later. He was asleep but he still had that pic in his arms. It was one of you and Sydney."

Her tears came all at once and without warning. It was a small victory but he had no intention of stopping there, even if he truly wished to spare her any undue pain. He wasn't trying to purposely upset her or attempt to lay the blame all on her. His only intention was to get two people who loved each other very much to end this wicked game they play and get back together. So what if he exaggerated some of the details a bit. If it worked it'd be worth it in the end. At least the one really touching bit was all true; EJ's convos with the picture of Nicole and Sydney had become a nightly ritual.

"I finally asked him, 'So are you going to do something about this or what?"

"What did he say?" She leaned in close, eagerly anticipating his response.

"He says he can't. He's convinced you won't have him back this time or that even if you did you'd leave him again. He says he doesn't know if he could survive losing you again."

And that was the comment which put an end to any consideration she had just given to go running back into his arms. [i]He doesn't know if he could survive losing you again.[/i] Of course now she would hear all those wonderful words she'd been longing to hear, even if it weren't coming from EJ himself like she'd hoped. She believed Chad was being truthful and had come to her with genuine concern for his brother. She knew EJ loved her, even if he didn't know Jack about showing her. But there was no way sho could go back to him now that she was dying.

"Nicole, please, I am begging you. Can't you give it just one more shot?"

She forced a smile and reached over to caress his cheek. "You're a sweetheart Chad. Your brother is very lucky to have someone in his life who cares so much. You'd be doing us all a favor if you can just get him to sign those divorce papers so that we can all move on."

Before he could argue any further, she went and held open the front door for him until he got the picture that is was time for him to leave. She watched from the window until he disappeared into the Chicago streets without a chance of making a surprise reappearance and then broke down into a deep, wounded sob.

She had a good half hour cry before some distant inner voice began nagging at her conscience. [i]You don't know you're dying, you dummy so what's your excuse if you find out you're not. Suppose you'll just go back to demanding he come to you again.[/i]

"Oh, shut up," she started grumbling aloud. She found it incredibly annoying that the inner voice was just calling it like she saw it. "I won't do that, ok. I, Nicole DiMera, do solemly swear that if I am not dying that I will at least go and talk to EJ. And god, if you can hear me, please give me some sort of sign that I am not about to make a huge mistake." 


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

December 23, 2011 Mid-Afternoon Salem

EJ sat at a small table in the Horton Town Square, sipping a cup of black coffee with two sugars as he observed with amusement Hope Brady, Jennifer Deveraux, and a giddy bunch of Horton family worshippers preparing for the tree-trimming ceremony which would take place on the following evening, Christmas Eve. It was another charity event being hosted by the hospital and this time funds were raised by the purchase of an ornament to be hung on the enormous tree which could be personalized with one's business or family name. The only part of the event he was looking forward to was the look of loathing on the faces of Jennifer and Co. as he mingled with the good townspeople and kissed their innocent babies. Sadly, the soporific event itself was about all he had to look forward to this Christmas.

Although he'd caved and was at least speaking to his father again, he had no desire to be anywhere near him or the mansion. The emptiness of the spacious home only made him feel lonelier than he already was, especially since, at one time, he could hardly wait to walk through it's doors and into the open arms of the woman he loved and their little girl. He'd give just about anything to hop in the Bill and Ted time machine or that DeLorean with Marty McFly and just get rid of Rafe Hernandez so he would never expose the truth about Sydney and he could turn a blind eye to Nicole's deception. He just wanted his life back.

And then suddenly, there was a glimmer of hope. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Chloe strolling into the square from through the tunnel, a re-usable insulated coffee tumbler in hand. This time it was EJ who wasted no time approaching her.

"Nice to see you home for the holidays."

Chloe tried to offer a polite smile which came out looking more like a frown. "Yeah well Salem isn't my home anymore. Believe me, I'd much rather be in Chicago."

"Ah, let me guess. Victor would much rather roast you on an open fire than a bunch of chestnuts."

"Bingo. I could kill Nicole for not coming."

"Nicole is still in Chicago?"

The crushed look on EJ's face made her want to scream. It was painfully obvious that he'd been hoping to learn Nicole had come along for the visit, as if he had no other means to contact her himself and his only option was to wait for her to come back to town. Her nonsense with the divorce papers was just as bad. If that was what she had wanted it could have been over and done with months ago. Instead, she was thriving solely on the fact that he still hadn't signed them. They were both stubbornly caught up in this seemingly permanent state of limbo; neither one wanting to let go yet neither one willing to lay it all on the line. She couldn't decide which of them she wanted to strangle more but since EJ was the closest he would have to do.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't care really," he said after clearing his throat and mustering up some false bravado. "I just find it surprising that anyone would want to spend Christmas alone, that's all."

"Who are you spending Christmas with, EJ?" She supposed she should feel pity for the guy standing before her teary-eyed. After all, she was intentionally twisting the knife where she knew it would hurt, but she wanted him to hurt. Just like Nicole, she imagined he spent most of his time trying to ignore the pain, trying to convince himself that he could go on through life without her but, just like real, physical pain, their suffering would never cease until the source was identified and treated. Good thing for them Chloe was a specialist in broken hearts with a concentration on dealing with impossible men.

She could tell he was too busy fighting back tears to offer her an answer. She had now reached her boiling point and found herself unable to stop her angry fists from flying at his chest. "You know, it doesn't have to be like this! She loves you, you fucking idiot and I know you love her so don't you dare even lie to me, EJ DiMera."

"Hey," he said, grabbing her by the wrists firmly enough to stop the beating, but gently enough to not cause any discomfort. "Wait just a minute. She is the one who walked away from me! I promised that woman the world and because of one silly misunderstanding, she threw it all away!"

"Do you really want to do this with me, EJ? Do I have to remind you of the many reasons Nicole is completely justified in not feeling she can trust you?"

"Well, she-"

"Before you even go there," Chloe warned him, pointing her index finger at him accusingly. "I've been keeping score. You don't need to remind me of all the things she did to you but I will remind you of one thing that she didn't. She NEVER cheated on you."

"Really? Funny I seem to recall learning she had a little sleepover with Brady at the Kiriakis mansion over the summer."

"You're an asshole. You'd already made it abundantly clear to her that you didn't want her. The fact that you were still married was merely a technicality."

"Just as it is now."

It amazed her just how much he and Nicole were alike in so many ways, which wasn't always a good thing. It was impossible to reason with them when they were hurting; they just became even more defensive. She began to realize she was going to get nowhere fast if she continued this path. The way she saw it, she had two paths to take. 1) She could tell EJ about Nicole being sick then, if everything he'd said to her after the hostage crisis had been true, she was certain he would go running back to her in a second. The problem with that was she feared it would backfire with Nicole. If she were to catch on that he came back only because Chloe had spilled the beans about her being ill, it might fall flat with her. Her second option seemed best for, if she was successful, it would force EJ to act on his own accord by implementing a little reverse psychology. However, it could also backfire on her and the results could be disastrous. Still, it was worth a shot.

"Well, you have the papers EJ, all signed and waiting for you. In fact I'm glad I ran into you today because Nicole asked me if I would drop by to see if you'd signed , why don't you make it a Merry Christmas for the both of you and just sign them tonight and I'll stop by in the morning and pick them up. If this is the way you truly feel then there's no reason to drag this out any further. Just put an end to it so you can both move on."

"Fine, I'll be happy to."

"Oh Chloe, I hope you didn't do the wrong thing," she lamented to herself as she watched EJ angrily storming out of the Town Square. "Come on EJ, whatever you do don't sign those papers. That's the last thing Nicole needs to see right now. Just get your ass on a plane and go get your wife."

It was a good thing Chloe wouldn't know for a few days the full, unabridged version of the outcome of her conversation with EJ. If she had any idea that the very next thing he did was to go home, sign the papers, and hand deliver the overnight envelope containing the divorce documents to the FedEx office himself, she would have had a heart attack before finding out that her tactic had been the catalyst in setting off a chain of events which, with much thanks to her, was going to make it a very Merry Christmas for all of those whom she loved. 


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

December 24, 2011 Around 8:00 AM Chicago

Nicole had finally had enough. After more than two months of attributing her daily vomiting sessions and all-around lethargy to depression, it was finally time to face that there was something more going on than simply having a case of the blues so she checked herself into the ER of Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

It had to be cancer, she just didn't know which type. Almost every kind of the disease she'd read about described pain in the affected area as a symptom but she'd been generally pain-free aside from some mild cramping in her stomach and aching in her breasts which, thanks to many home self-examinations, she was pretty much able to rule out the latter. Right now Leukemia seemed most likely since many of the patients and survivors testimonies she'd read online said at first they had mistaken their symptoms for the flu. There were also the many worried looks from Chloe who was a Leukemia survivor herself. Although her friend had never once brought up the "C" word, she'd overheard her telling Philip how similarly she felt right before she was first diagnosed.

[i]Nicole, you have cancer.[/i] The terrible scene which her brain so cleverly conjured up played over and over in her head. The once-friendly nurse who had initially come in and taken her temperature, blood pressure, and pulse, kept returning to the room with a wicked grin plastered on her face to deliver the awful news. Of course this would be the way things played out. It was going to be just another classic episode of This Is You Life, Nicole Walker DiMera. Once she'd found it in her heart to forgive EJ, something would have to come along to screw things up. Usually it was either his or her's own stupid behavior. This time, it was a terminal illness.

How could she go back to him if she knew she was dying? As much as the thought of seeing EJ suffer over her loss pleased her on some level in fantasy, she knew all too well the pain one suffered from losing a loved one in reality and it wasn't something she would wish on even her worst enemy. Really, what could she do now? Find EJ and tell him, [i]I'm sorry too. I love you so much and I'll love you to the day I die which, by the way, is going to be approximately six months from now.[/i]

Life was just so unfair. It always had been for her so why now should she expect anything but the worst. As she sat upright at the edge of the exam table with her legs dangling over the edge, clad in one of those infamous white and hospital-green flowered gowns, she begin to mentally plan her own funeral.

"Nicole? Hi, I'm Dr. Haley. What brings you here on Christmas EVe?"

Nicole seemed almost annoyed by the doc who interrupted her attempt to think of a clever epitaph for her gravestone. "Hi...sorry, ummm...didn't I tell everything to the nurse already?"

"You did, but I'm going to be a pain in the butt and make you tell me all over again. Plus, I have a few more questions of my own just to really aggravate you."

Nicole couldn't help a reluctant smile. The doc was a very attractive woman, probably very close to her in age, who looked like she was fresh off the set of filming an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Her long, dirty-blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail and her periwinkle-colored, figure-flattering scrubs looked as if they were some famous designer's line of workwear. "No offense, doc but I'd rather be seen by McDreamy or McSteamy if they're available."

"Yeah, wouldn't we all. Unfortunately the best I could do would be to have Dr. McManus see you. Just picture McDreamy forty years from now."

Nicole frowned. "Fine. I've been feeling sick for the past couple of months. At first I thought I was just coming down with the flu, but I never had fevers or anything like that, so then I began to think that maybe it's just depression..."

"Well, depression can have very physical effects like those you are describing but before we even go there I want to rule out anything else we could possibly be dealing with here. Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

Nicole was sure her sarcastic cackle could be heard by the entire building. "Nope! Next question."

"OK, back up a second, Is that a, 'no, there's no possible way,' or no, you don't [i]think[/i] you are?"

"I CAN'T HAVE KIDS, OK!" Nicole really didn't mean for her words to come out so angry but she was growing increasingly frustrated. Here she was dying, and all this bitch wanted to know was if she was pregnant. "Don't you people see your patient's records? If you'd read them you'd have seen that I lost my baby!"

"Nicole, I can access your records, yes but that is not something that's readily available to us when you walk in the door so, no...I did not know you had a miscarriage. I'm very sorry for your loss. Was that recently?"

Nicole looked over at the doctor who was looking at her with sincere empathy, care, and concern and suddenly felt like a jackass. "I'm sorry, it's a very touchy subject for me."

Dr. Haley took her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "You don't need to apologize."

"I didn't have a miscarriage. I went into premature labor and she was delivered stillborn. That was three years ago. After I lost my little girl, I was told I'd never be able to have children." Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she flashed back to what was certifiably the absolute worst day of her life.

"I didn't mean to upset you, sweetie. Let's move on, shall we?"

Nicole nodded gratefully in response. "Do you think I could have cancer?"

The doc looked at her with a raised eyebrow, skeptically. "Been playing around on WebMD, much?"

"Guilty," Nicole said raising her hand, finally finding her way back to a smile.

"Sweetie, if you have a toothache WebMD will tell you it could possibly be cancer. Leave the diagnosing to me, please. So you say that you haven't been running any fevers, correct?" At this point the doc took out her stethoscope and begin placing it all about her chest and back area, listening intently.

"Right."

"How about your weight? Any significant loss or gain over the past few months?"

"I've put on a few pounds but not a lot. Just enough where some of my clothes are feeling a little snug."

"Any dizziness? Lightheadedness?"

"I have felt faint a few times but never passed out or anything."

"Take a deep breath for me."

Nicole studied the doc's serious expression with some alarm. "Is there something wrong with my heart? My lungs?"

"Shhhh," the doc said putting a finger to her own lips. "Just stay quiet and breathe nice and easy for me for just a minute."

Nicole tried her best to remain patient. It was a long sixty seconds. When the doc finally pulled the instrument away from her belly area she resumed bombarding her with questions. "Did you hear something? Do you know what's wrong with me?"

"Let's take some blood and a urine sample and send it off to the lab and then we'll go from there, ok?"

Nicole could only nod in response. She felt her fingers and toes growing cold as the panic began to set in. She sunk back into the exam table and tightly gripped the arm rests at her sides, bracing herself for whatever horrible news there was to come. She stared at the clock, enjoying every minute from now until the moment when it would be made official that she was dying. It was now 8:35 am now. It wouldn't take long before the life-altering news was delivered but, until then there was a small window of hope. She used the next thirty minutes wisely and began to pray for a miracle.

December 24, 2011 8:35 AM Salem

EJ was suddenly and crudely awaken by the impact of his body hitting the floor. Thankfully, there was carpeting to offer some padding. That's when he realized he wasn't at home. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to reveal he was on the living room floor of Chad's apartment. It became apparent he'd spent the night sleeping on his brother's sofa although he had no recollection of how he got there. His initial thought was that that pounding of his head had come from the fall and therefore was also causing him this confusion and loss of memory. However, when he suddenly felt the need to vomit and found a bucket waiting conveniently beside the sofa, he realized that he was nothing but hungover.

"It's alive!"

EJ glanced up to find Chad towering over him, looking down upon him disapprovingly with his arms folded across his chest.

"How 'bout another drink, bro? You were about one away from drinking yourself into a coma. The guy at the Cheatin' Heart was about to ship you off in an ambulance. What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I think the point of it all was to stop myself from thinking," EJ's voice came nearly indecipherable from behind the hands his face was buried into.

"Dude, just stop feeling sorry for yourself. I'm fucking sick of it. Nobody is ruining your life but you."

"Your empathy is overwhelming, Chad, thank you. I just ended my marriage yesterday, I-"

"Exactly! YOU ended it. Nobody held a gun to your head and forced you to sign those papers, least of all Nicole. Funny isn't it? You'd think if she wanted to divorce you so bad she'd have made you sign those papers before now, you fucking idiot!"

EJ stared up at Chad disbelievingly. The kid had some balls to speak to him that way. How dare he speak the truth, and all in support of Nicole? How very un-DiMera of him.

"You don't know Nicole. She rather enjoys inflicting her revenge upon others."

"Funny, but she didn't seem to be enjoying herself when I asked her if she was still in love with you. She looked pretty torn up to me."

EJ felt as if his body had just been struck by lightning. "You saw Nicole? When?"

"Yesterday."

"I thought she didn't come back with Chloe."

"She didn't, as far as I know anyway. I went to see her in Chicago."

"You went specifically to see Nicole?"

"Yup. She loves you. All she wanted was for you to prove yourself to her. Not so unreasonable if you ask me, considering how you betrayed her."

"Who's side are you on?"

"Look, you're both being stupid and stubborn as hell and I'm just as fet up with her as I am you but, come on, man. If you didn't do what you did to her then, yes...I would say that Nicole was the one being ridiculous but, you lied to her, you cheated on her, you broke her trust which was very fragile to begin with. Look, I don't know all the details but I do know she's had some really shitty relationships with men. I've heard Melanie's horror stories about Trent. I can imagine Nicole's are just as bad, or worse."

EJ wasn't sure it was only his over-indulgence in alcohol which was once again making him feel the need to vomit. God it was annoying that Chad was right. He was an idiot, a bastard, whatever derogatory name you could think of for a complete moron, he deserved to be called it. He had become the man he swore he'd never be. He wanted to be the one to make her forget all the assholes and losers that came before. Instead, he'd become the newest addition to the list, unless...

"What time is it," he asked Chad, jumping to his feet with super-human agility and newfound strength. He didn't wait for an answer before making his way into the bathroom.

"A little after nine," Chad replied with feigned indifference, a victorious smile sweeping across his face all the while. He could faintly hear EJ instructing someone over the phone to prepare the jet for a trip to Chicago. Chad decided it would be more fun to play dumb from here on out. He sat on the couch and watched with quiet satisfaction as his brother scrambled around the apartment to collect a few things before making his way toward the front door.

"Going somewhere, bro?"

"I have something I need to take care of. I'll be out of town for a bit."

"Dude, there's a blizzard heading right this way. There's no way you're gonna be back in time for the tree-trimming ceremony tonight."

"Good. Fuck the bloody Hortons. Look, if I don't see you, you and Melanie have a Merry Christmas." EJ retraced his steps to pull Chad up off the couch and give him a a nice, big-brotherly hug full of lots of pats to the back, to which Chad reciprocated. It was a DiMera thing.

"You too, bro. Be safe, and call me later."

"Yes, dear," EJ said with a wink before pulling the door closed behind him.

Chad grinned and waited to hear the sound of his brother's footsteps walking away before he yelled out one final request. "And tell Nicole I said Merry Christmas too!" 


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

December 24, 2011 Around 9:30 AM Somewhere between Salem and Chicago

Once EJ was at the mercy of his pilot, he was finally able to sit back in his seat by the window though he could hardly relax. It was almost 9:30 already and he had an hour at most to make it to Chicago before the overnight envelope containing written proof of the biggest mistake he'd ever made in his life was due to arrive. Well, make that the second biggest mistake, paling only in comparison to letting Nicole slip away the first time around. If he was lucky, the FedEx driver would be running behind and just make the scheduled 10:30 delivery and not a minute before. If he was really lucky, then the letter would have fallen off the plane on the way there and into a pit of molten lava. Too bad there weren't any volcanoes on the way to Chicago. He pulled out his phone with intentions of tracking the package but was sidetracked by finding several new text messages as well as a voice mail.

The caller who left a voicemail had an area code of 312. Chicago. He never did find out if Nicole had bothered to get a new cell number since moving away. Could it be her? His fingers couldn't enter his passcode quickly enough.

It was Chloe. Apparently she'd left the message yesterday evening while he was too busy getting drunk. Her message complimented what Chad had already told him: Nicole loved him, and even though Chloe insisted it was against her better judgment, she pleaded with him to go to her. It was her reasoning that followed which sent him into a state of sheer panic. She told him how sick Nicole had been and how she was afraid it could be something serious. She implored him that if he had any plans to make things right with Nicole not to wait.

Immediately after hearing Chloe's message, he called Nicole's phone...at least he called her last known phone number. Just like the last time he'd called it, it went straight to her voicemail. For all he knew his father was still "screening" his calls. Wonderful. He couldn't stand feeling so powerless as he did at that very moment, stuck in the air with no way of contacting her. Wait...he could try contacting Chloe and ask for her home number. As he perused the texting menu, one of the new messages caught his eye. It was from Carlo, his man who had been tailing Nicole and it was marked URGENT, sent just a couple of hours ago this morning. The content of the message made him go stiff as a board.

[i]Boss, thought you would want to know I followed Nicole to the hospital this morning.[/i]

Hospital? [i]Oh, no![/i] He then saw the messages that followed, there were two of them noting an 'update.' The first one read:

[i]Update: Found Nicole in waiting room. They took her in around 7:30[/i]

The second:

[i]Update: 9 AM and she's still inside.[/i]

EJ could not be bothered with texting. His fingers simply couldn't type fast enough on the tiny keypad so he opted to call his man instead. He did not waste any time with formalities. "Where is she," he demanded before Carlo could even say 'hello.'

"She's still inside."

"Well what's wrong with her?" His voice was full of all the hysterics of an over-protective mother...or a man who just loves his wife madly.

"I don't know. She looked just fine."

"Well obviously she's not bloody fine if she's in the hospital! Didn't you try to find out anything?" EJ's grip on his phone was so tight he could hear the plastic beginning to crack right in his hands.

"I can't do that without blowing my cover. They'll-"

"Look, just forget it. Which hospital?" He jotted the name down on a piece of scrap paper which he stuffed into his jacket pocket. "Alright, look, just stay there and notify me at once if you find out anything or if you see her."

There was no use in asking Chloe for the number now that he knew she wasn't even home. He considered calling the hospital to identify himself as her husband and demand information that way but if Nicole hadn't authorized release of such information then he didn't want to cause her any undue stress. Just because she loved him didn't mean the road to forgiveness would be an easy one.

It would be approximately another twenty-five minutes before they would land and would most likely take just as long for him to leave the airport and make it into the city. To him it seemed like an eternity but, then again, no amount of time was acceptable in keeping you seperated from the one you love and he'd wasted far too much time all ready. He spent the next twenty-five minutes swearing up and down to never again make the same mistakes and praying for a second chance to do it all over again, the right way.

Nicole glanced at the clock for the about the tenth time within the same minute. It was 9:30, almost an hour since the samples had been taken to the lab. What could be taking so long? It had to mean that the impending news wasn't good. She was withing seconds of grabbing the buzzer to call the nurse's station when Dr. Haley finally reappeared.

"Nicole, I'm so sorry. The roads were very icy this morning and there was a bunch of accidents. We kinda got slammed all at once. How are you feeling? Any nausea right now?"

"A little bit."

"OK. Let me ask you this: when was your last menstrual cycle?"

"Actually, I don't get them regularly. I never have since I lost the baby."

"Ok, well, let me ask you this then. When were you last sexually active?"

Nicole stared at her skeptically. "Are these typical questions you ask of your patients?"

"Well, they are for those who are pregnant."

"Oh, no...I'm not pregnant." [i]Come on, breathe, Nicole, breathe. She's mistaken.[/i]

Dr. Haley pulled up a stool right beside and took her hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly. "Yes, sweetie, you are and you'll be happy to know that all of your blood and urine tests look perfect."

"No, no you don't understand," Nicole said as she grabbed the doc by the arm and tugged it desperately, "This can't be happening! I can't have another baby! I can't [i]lose[/i] another baby. Please tell me this is some mistake! You have to run the tests again!"

"I don't need to run the tests again. I knew you were pregnant before the results came back. Do you want to know how?"

Nicole's head nodded shakily in response. It was all she could manage. Her brain was working far too hard processing the shocking news to deal with any other demands for action.

"I could hear your baby's heartbeat. Would you like to hear it too?"

"My baby has a heartbeat?" Although she was still terrified, those feelings of fear paled in comparison to the joy and relief she felt knowing her baby, EJ's baby, was, at least right now, alive and well.

"Why don't you hear for yourself."

"Nicole laid still while the doctor once again moved the stethoscope over her belly until she landed her spot, then handed the earpiece over to her. It was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard. Although it was faint compared to her own, her little baby's heart was beating steadily, consistently, vibrantly. "That's my baby!" "My baby's heart is beating!" That one, soft little thudding sound suddenly made everything seem right in the world and she began to cry, and not because she was afraid, or sad, or feeling sorry for herself. For the first time in her life, she had the overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be all right. She'd asked for a sign and that sign came in the form of another miracle. Against all the odds, they created another child. She wasn't necessarily a religious person. In fact, she wasn't sure if she even really believed in god but, she did believe that there was some force, greater that one could imagine, that wanted these two people, herself and EJ, to be forever united. Or maybe, she'd just never realized the power of the thing called love until this very moment.  
"That is a good, strong little heartbeat. Judging by that I'd say you're at least twelve weeks."

Nicole stole a few moments to do the math. "Almost to the day, actually. September twenty-sixth...that's when I got pregnant."

"Twelve weeks...you've made it through your first trimester. That's a huge accomplishment. Look, I know how scared you must be but try not to worry. I can recommend a few wonderful OB/GYNs who specialize in high-risk pregnancies. There have been many cases of women who have been told they'll never have children, giving birth to happy, healthy babies."

Nicole smiled at her appreciatively. "Thanks, Doc but actually, I'm not even from around here. As soon as you let me out I'm heading home to share the news with my husband."

"I hope it's not too far. I've heard we're getting flurries all ready and they expect it to be snowing good by 11. The airport is already beginning to cancel flights."

Nicole smiled wistfully as she imagined herself walking through the doors of the DiMera mansion and back into EJ's arms. "Salem. I'm going home to Salem."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

December 24, 2011 Around 10:15 AM Chicago

EJ bounded through the doors of the Northwestern Memorial Hospital's ER wing and spotted Carlo out of the corner of his eye sitting in a chair off into the corner, playing on his cell phone. EJ approached his hired hand and hovered over him for several seconds before he looked up.

"You made it, boss."

"Still no sign of her," EJ asked craning his neck around to survery the entire waiting area.

"None. It's going on three hours she's been back there now."

EJ sighed with frustration. "Alright, look...I'm going to see if they will let me in. Just stay here and keep an eye on things, just in case."

As he approached the frazzled-looking woman at the intake window, his stomach began to churn with uneasiness. He was consumed with all the usual doubts, of course...would she reject him, would she refuse his company but, most of all, he feared that he was about to lose her for good.

He briefly considered that perhaps Chloe had been exaggerating, giving his heart strings a little much-needed tug, but he could not dismiss the genuine worry and concern in her voice. The big C was nothing to joke about and he doubted that someone who had survived her own, terrifying battle with the disease would use it as a weapon just to toy with his emotions.

"Can I help you?" The woman sitting behind the desk didn't even bother looking away from her computer screen as she addressed him.

"Yes I'm here to see Nicole-," he paused briefly as he tried to determine which name it was most likely she had used. "Walker...DiMera?"

"Is that hyphenated? I don't see a Walker...ah, DiMera, here we are."

EJ couldn't help but smile, despite all his fears and worries. Yes, DiMera was still her legal name but that hadn't stopped her from reverting back to Walker a few months earlier. It was an encouraging sign.

"May I go and see her? I'm her husband."

"Well, you could if she were here sweetie but, she was discharged about half an hour ago."

"Discharged? Are you sure?" EJ felt his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands as they curled into fists. That damn Carlo had probably been too busy playing games on his cell phone to notice that Nicole had slipped out in front of his nose.

"Wait a second, who are we talking about here," the tall, blonde woman with the long ponytail asked as she peered over the receptionist's shoulder to the computer screen. "Did you say you're Nicole's husband," she asked, this time addressing EJ directly.

"Yes. Is she here? Is she all right?"

[i]Awwww, he's so worried about her, how cute![/i] As tempting as it was to share the exciting news with him however, the news was not hers to deliver. No man should ever hear from anyone but his wife first that they were about to have a baby.

"No, she was discharged just a little while ago but I'm glad that you're here. She forgot something that she needs to take with her when she goes to see the specialist."

EJ had no choice but to lean into the counter for support, otherwise he'd be on the floor by now. His entire body felt numb. If it weren't for the fact that his heart was beating so hard he felt it might burst right out of his chest he would have presumed himself dead. He could barely squeak out his next sentence. "Specialist? Doctor, what's wrong with my wife?"

"Sweetie, I could tell you that but, trust me. This is something you're going to want to hear from your wife. There are the names and phone numbers of the best of the best specialists in the envelope, along with all the results from her tests today. Just promise me you won't peek. Let Nicole tell you."

"Is she going to be all right? Please, just tell me that much."

It was a sin she was going to make the poor man suffer, but offering even a hint of hopefulness would be stealing her patient's thunder. It was best to simply offer him the very cut and dry clinical answer. "All I will say is, it's a matter of finding the right doctor. No doctor can ever promise to work miracles but I've seen many happen under those I'm referring her to. She'll be in very good hands."

EJ could only offer a slight nod in response as his cold, numb fingers attempted their best in picking up the envelope she slid toward him over the counter. His fingers did not want to work, nor did his legs, as he found out the hard way, trying to make his way back to Carlo in the waiting area. What he needed was a pair of roller skates and a rope that could be tied around his waist so that Carlo could just pull him wherever he needed to go. Actually, make that a hand truck he could be strapped to it a la Hannibal Lechter for he didn't have the strength to remain upright on his own.

[i]Specialist.[/i] Sure, there were all kinds of specialists, but when was the last time you heard of someone being sent to an ear, nose, and throat doctor, or podiatrist, being told to hope for a miracle? It became quickly apparent that this was not something as simple as a bad case of strep throat.

A few minutes later, he didn't even recall having the conversation with Carlo in which he'd instructed him to drive him personally to Chloe and Philip's apartment but as he read the street sign at the corner they had just turned, he realized that's where they were headed. One glance at his cell phone display informed him it was now well past 11 AM. The traffic on the way there had been atrocious and, barring another kind of miracle, the divorce papers would have been delivered before he could arrive to stop them. It was possible it may have been delayed due to weather since it had begun to snow although it was still nothing but a light downfall compared with what was forecasted for later. On the other hand, FedEx may have been pushing to get all of their deliveries out ASAP in anticipation of weather interfering later on, nevermind the fact that it was Christmas Eve and their drivers had probably already planned on finishing early so that they could begin enjoying their holiday sooner. Great. So now, on top of whatever horrible news Nicole had been given in the ER, she was also likely finding out that she was just one minor step away from officially being divorced. He had to hand it to himself, if nothing else, he was the world's biggest fool of all-time.

December 24, 2011 Around 10:15 AM Chicago

"Lady!" Nicole squealed as she scooped her little dog, who had been eagerly awaitng her return, up in her arms as soon as she walked through the door. "Pack you bags, madame, we are going home!"

The little Chihuahua seemed to be smiling as Nicole giddily carried her into her bedroom and then gently set her on the edge of the bed.

"Yes, shocker to see me so happy, I know, and if you promise not to tell anybody, I'll tell you why!"

Lady paced the edge of the bed, yipping every bit as enthusiastically as her owner spoke.

Nicole sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed her hands over her stomach. She'd hardly been able to stop touching it since she learned the news. "I'm going to have a baby. You're going to be a big sister!"

Although deep down she knew very well Lady didn't understand a single word she was saying, she still got a kick out of the fact that upon hearing her news, her little dog had jumped up and placed her tiny front paws upon her stomach. The touching moment was suddenly disturbed by the doorbell, followed by a fist pounding into the front door.

"No, of course Lillian isn't here to answer the door," Nicole grumbled as she made her way into the living room and swung open the front door.

"FedEx," the man said grouchily as he identified his employer, although his expression and mannerisms immediately begin to transform upon seeing the bombshell who greeted him. Nicole found herself sneerin at him in disgust as she noticed him undressing her with his eyes.

"Thanks," she replied shortly, snatching the envelope from his grasp and the pen from his clipboard to sign before waiting to be prompted. As soon as the task was complete, she slammed the door in his face just as he began to speak. It was time to send McCreepy on his way.

She tossed the envelope onto the console table by the door and headed back to her room. There was no time to waste, she needed to pack and get to the airport ASAP. She miraculously managed to book a flight on Christmas Eve. Thanks to the approaching blizzard, many had either cancelled their trips altogether or booked earlier flights to try to beat the storm. The agent had already warned her there was a good chance that even her short flight to Salem might be canceled because of the storm, even though blizzard conditions weren't predicted until later in the evening. The earliest one she could manage to get was at 1:15 and as long as the snowfall remained light like it was now, she felt confident she would make it. It was just one of those bizarre days where things were actually working in her favor.

Although she didn't plan on returning to Chicago for good, she only packed enough clothes and a few toiletries to get her through the next few days until arrangements could be made to return for the rest of her things. The trip would have to be as stress-free, physically speaking, as possible. It was best to keep it simple until she knew for sure what kind of pregnancy she was dealing with. She already had Lady to worry about so her bag would have to be as small and light as possible. She put little to no thought into her wardrobe selection, simply grabbing the first three tops and pairs of pants she could find and stuffing them into the bag without giving them a proper fold. Once she was satisfied with the content of her bag, she corraled Lady into her tiny little carrier, left a quick note for Lillian, and out the door and to the airport she and her little dog went. She was in such a hurry that she didn't realize she'd left her phone sitting on the nightstand near her bed. It was just after 11 am when she walked out the door. 


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

December 24, 2011 Around 11:20 AM Chicago

EJ kept swallowing back the knots in his throat as his knuckles softly rapped the white, wooden door of Chloe and Philip's apartment, followed by a mash to the buzzer. He wanted to call out to her but the tightness in his throat was making it impossible for him to speak. Thankfully, the door was answered within a few seconds.

There was a brief moment of excitement as he imagined Nicole would be standing there once the door surpassed the point of bocking his view. He was both disappointed and puzzled by the woman who greeted him.

"Can I help you," the older woman with the thick, Polish accent asked, looking at him skeptically as she used her body to deny access to the apartment unless and until he was invited in.

"Is this the home of Philip Kiriakis and Chloe Lane?" A quick peek beyond the woman's head informed him he was in the right spot before she had the opportunity to answer, thanks to the large, framed photograph of the couple and their young son hanging on the wall behind her.

"Yes. Can I help you," the woman repeated her initial question again.

"Yes, actually I'm looking for Nicole. Is she home?" His eyes continued to stare beyond the woman who was undoubtedly some kind of nanny or maid, scouring the visible parts of the apartment for some trace of Nicole.

"And you are?"

"I'm her husband. May I see her, please?"

"She's not here."

EJ truly did not, at least for once, intend to be rude as he pushed his way past the Polish woman and into the apartment, calling out Nicole's name in desperation. He was convinced Nicole had given instructions to turn anyone, and especially him, away. He never considered the fact that she really was not there.

"I told you, she's not here. She went home. See, she left note."

The woman grabbed a small slip of paper from the counter and handed it over to him, standing with hands on her hips and a smug grin as she watched EJ's expression change from that of suspiciousness to acceptance once the note confirmed her story to him.

She had left out the very best part of what the note said, and it was this sentiment which suddenly made everything just a little bit brighter. She had stated she was going home, yes but, more specifically, the note was to inform Lillian that she was flying back to Salem to spend Christmas with her [i]husband.[/i]She'd even drawn a little smiley face at the bottom. The whole tone of the note was rather upbeat, in fact...not the kind of mood you'd expect from someone who had just been delivered tragic news. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought but, he was still preparing himself for the worst.

Now, if he could just get to Nicole before she managed to get on the plane. He had no idea how far ahead of him she was time-wise. For all he knew she could be back in Salem all ready. He needed to move, fast. He said a quick 'thank you' to Lillian as he showed himself out. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the FedEx envelope sitting on top of the table. He gave one quick look around to see if he was being watched and to his satisfaction, Lillian had returned to putting the groceries away, leaving him easily able to slip the letter beneath his coat without being seen. At least he'd managed to successfully diffuse one bomb from going off today.

After climbing into the back seat of the car and instructing Carlo to drive to the airport, he took out his phone and called Chloe.

"You got my message," she answered immediately. "She went to the hospital this morning. Please tell me you're on your way there."

"Better than that, actually. I'm here. I'm in Chicago. Have you talked to her this morning?"

"No," Chloe said, sighing into the phone frustratedly. "I knew I shouldn't have left her. I should have known she'd never have told me how badly she was feeling. She didn't want to 'ruin' my holiday. So where are you? Did you find her?"

"No, that's why I need your help. She's already left the hospital, they released her."

"Oh," Chloe replied, sounding a bit surprised. "Well, that's good, I guess? Did you try my apartment?"

"Yes, yes and she left there too. She's on her way back to Salem?"

"She is?" She sounded even more shocked than from the previous revelation.

"Yes, and I need you to contact her, please. I don't know if I can trust that my phone will get through to her. Just call her and beg her not to get on that plane. Tell her I'm on my way to the airport to meet her."

"OK," Chloe responded with as much urgency in her voice as his own. "I will call her and get right back to you."

He waited for the time display to pop back up after terminating the call. It was 11:50. It was 7:30 when she had been taken back into the ER and sometime between then and a quarter after ten she had left. He cursed himself for not asking the doctor the precise time she had been discharged. The papers. Maybe her discharge papers had some kind of timestamp. [i]Don't look at them![/i] he scolded himself. He was saved from making the impossible decision between looking and not looking when his phone began to buzz in his hand. It was Chloe.

"I couldn't get her," she informed him disappointedly. "It rang and then went to voicemail so I left her a message. I'll keep trying and call you as soon as I-wait a second, hang on! She's bleeping in!"

EJ finally felt a wave of relief wash over him as he was sure that Nicole was now being informed that he was on his way to meet her but, of course, it just couldn't be that easy.

"You're never going to believe this," Chloe said with exasperation as her voice came back on the line. "That was Lillian who was calling me back. She heard the phone ringing in Nicole's bedroom. She left her phone on the night stand."

"Oh, this is just bloody ridiculous," EJ raged as he elbowed the seat cushion behind him. "Chloe, thank you. I'm going to call the airport and see if I can have her paged."

As he searched for the number for O'Hare airport, it slowly began to dawn on him that the car was no longer moving. He looked up to find that the traffic on the biway was backed up for what seemed to be miles in front of them. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"The radio is reporting accidents everywhere, boss. Roads are icy."

"Well, let's hope they're icy enough to keep the planes on the ground from now on."

"Radio said so far the only departing flights that have been cancelled are those which are flying into the storm. Takes a little bit more than some light snow to keep planes on the ground on one of the busiest travel days of the year."

"You're not making me feel any better if that's what you were aiming for, Carlo," EJ snarled as he dialed the number for O'Hare airport. He waited impatiently for the dialing tone to sound but after a few secinds of silence, was forced to check the display of his phone. No signal. He began to laugh and, hysterically at that. If he didn't, he would have to reach up and grab Carlo and start strangling him by the neck. Could anything else go wrong today? Suddenly, he felt as if he was just a lad once again as he closed his eyes and began to pray...for snow, and lots of it.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

December 24, 2011 Around 12:45 PM O'Hare International Airport, Chicago

"Wow, it's a good thing we left early, MiLady," Nicole said to the little dog sitting on her lap as she fed her a few french fries from the huge cup full from the Nathan's Hot Dog stand. "We would naver have had time to stop for a bite to eat before taking off and, I don't know about you, but I'm so hungry I could eat enough for two."

The little dog stood up on her hind legs and let out a loud yip.

"Yes, I know, I [i]am[/i] eating for two and yes, I know my meal choice may not be the most nutritious but when you got a craving, you gotta go for it, right?"

There came the butterflies in her stomach again. She wasn't sure if what she was feeling was the baby moving or if it was just her stomach grumbling for food, but she liked to believe it was the former even if it was the latter which was more likely. She was actually hungry and not feeling nauseous for once which was a miracle in itself. She was just about to get started on her hot dog when the announcement came. Due to the earlier than expected onset of heavy snow, all flights had been cancelled effective immediately.

"Oh, no," She wailed in despair, quickly scooping up Lady in her arms before trotting toward the car rental center. "Oh no, this can't be happening! We've got to find another way, Lady!"

She ran alongside the large plate-glass windows showcasing the variety of planes outside the terminals. If she'd have taken the time to glance out the window just once she might have seen the DiMera Enterprises jet parked right outside, offering her an early clue to yet another delightful surprise which was to come her way that day.

December 24, 2011 O'Hare International Airport, Chicago Around 1:00 PM

Although it seemed like a bit too little, too late, EJ was still relieved to hear over the radio just before stepping out of the car that all departing flights out of the airport had been cancelled. It was great news if by some miracle Nicole's flight hadn't been left yet. If it had, it the news was damning. He'd be stuck in Chicago without Nicole after doing everything including just about selling his soul to get to Chicago on time to prevent such an incident from happening. Now[i]that[/i] was ironic. Try putting that in your pipe and smoking it, Alanis Morisette.

There was no time to panic just yet. In fact, he didn't even know for sure that Nicole actually was able to book a flight. It was Christmas Eve after all and he imagined most flights were probably long over-booked before Nicole even made the decision to go back to Salem. Surely she hadn't made early reservations; Chloe would've known something.

The good news was, since it was such a short flight to Salem...just barely over half an hour in the air, there were only two major airlines which provided the service via a turbo-prop plane and the two terminals were side by side, limiting his search within the airport significantly. The downside was that he'd never seen the airport so packed. As tall as he was, he could barely see two people in front of him. He considered requesting she be paged but he wasn't even able to hear the ones that were already being made through the anguished cries of disappointed sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, etc. who were not going to be making it home for the holidays. It was truly heartbreaking. He didn't want to find out he was yet another one of those people.

He stepped up onto a vacant seat at the US Airways terminal to get a better look around. He didn't see her. If she was there, he would have seen her. She would be the most beautiful woman there.

******************************************************************  
December 24,2011 O'Hare International Airport, Chicago Around 1:15 PM Nicole sat indian-style on the floor near a large, potted plant of some kind, once again feeding Lady from the cup of french fries which were now ice cold. By the time she discovered that she was basically stuck in Chicago, since the rental office refused to loan out any cars predicitng the roads to be shut down soon, she'd lost her appetite anyway and pitched her hot dog as well before even getting a bite. From the sound of things, she might be stuck at the airport too. Everyone and their mother was waiting for a taxi to either take them back to their homes or to a hotel before a state of emergency was to be declared and one glimpse out the window told her it wasn't going to be much longer before that happened.

[i]DiMera Enterprises.[/i]Why had that popped into her head? It was only when she peered deeper into the snow that she realized she was reading it, not thinking it. A chill went down her spine. Nobody but immediate members of the Stefano DiMera family had access to the jet. Chad. Damn it. Chad was here and obviously, still was. He'd mentioned showing Melanie around and perhaps they had just decided to stay in Chicago for Christmas.

"Shit," Nicole whined, finally facing defeat. "I wanted so badly for us to be home with your daddy for Christmas, little one," she said consolingly to her little miracle as she pressed her hands to her stomach. "Mommy tried. I guess the best I can do is at least call him so you can hear his voice. How does that sound?" She began to dig through her purse, frantically searching for her phone. No luck.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me!" As a last resort she checked her coat pockets. When she came up empty, she let out a frustrated shriek followed by a very angry-sounding, "Fuck!"

There were the butterflies again. "Sorry baby, pay no attnetion to your stupid, idiotic, mother who forgot her cell phone at home!" Just as she was about to resign herself to wallowing in her own misery, things went from worse, to the impossible...at least for the next few minutes.

Lady had jumped from her arms for some unfathomable reason and almost instantly disappeared into the crowd. By the time Nicole got to her feet, she was so disoriented that she completely lost track of which direction she had run.

"Oh my god, this is not happening," Nicole cried as she pushed her way through the crowd in a desperate search for her naughty little pup. "Lady!"

EJ looked down to discover the source of the tickling sensation on his leg. There he found a tiny little long-haired Chihuahua, sporting a Christmas sweater with snowmen and pink diamond-studded collar, trying her best to climb up it. This was not just anybody's little lost dog, it was Lady. He knew that collar anywhere and he knew better than anyone the woman that he could now hear calling out her name from somewhere in the crowd. He quickly bent down and scooped Lady up and began moving in the direction of her voice. That's when he saw her. Her back was turned to him but he knew every inch of her so well he could recognize her through a one inch close up of a random patch of her skin. His hand was just inches from her shoulder when she turned around.

She immediately broke into such a brilliant smile that in an instant, all of his fears of rejection were laid to rest. She was every bit as happy to see him as he was to see her and he was sure that his smile would convey as much.

She looked so beautiful that she literally took his breath away. It was impossible to think that she had been so sick. Her eyes were more vibrant than ever and her demeanor, although she had not yet spoken a word, made her appear to not have a care in the world. He didn't quite know how to best describe it but, simply stated, she appeared to be glowing.

The two of them remained trasfixed in this gaze of goofy grins upon both of their faces for just a few seconds though years down the road they would continue to tell anyone who listened that it was somewhere in the ballpark of ten minutes. Quite understandable coming from two people who, at that very moment, made a mutual although uncommunicated decision to leave all of their past mistakes in the past and focus only on what the future had to offer. Only one of them knew at that very moment that it would include having children of their own, but they both pictured themselves spending a lifetime together with no end of EJ and Nicole in sight until the day they were called upon to meet their maker. Other than that, no one or nothing would ever come between them again. Seemed like so much to think about in such little time to be anything short of the ten minute mark.

"Hi," they both spoke simultaneously, offering another occasion for more silly grins and giddy, child-like chuckles.

Nicole was the first to manage to speak independently. "What are you doing in Chicago?" Immediately, she felt silly for even asking. She knew he had come for her. It hadn't been an unfortunate turn of events which kept her from getting on that plane, it was destiny's way of keeping her right where she was meant to be at this place and time.

He cupped the side of her face so tenderly she imagined her skin melting away from the warmth of his touch. "I couldn't imagine spending Christmas without my wife."

She didn't care that she started weeping in public. They were happy tears after all and, so what if she was a little overly-emotional. She was pregnant and she was entitled to it.

"Sweetheart, I am so sorry. I have been such a bloody fool," he quickly set Lady down by his feet so that he could focus all of his attention on Nicole, pulling her head to him close so he could begin to kiss away her tears. "I love you so much, just please, please forgive me."

She backed away just enough so she could look him in the eye as she pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. When he continued to insist he was the world's biggest jerk, she knew the only way to shut him up would be with a kiss. She felt his warm breath come rushing into her as he kissed her back with such an intensity that she momentarily forgot about every other thing in the world. His heartbeat, which at first she could distinguish as his own, somehow caught up with her own to the point where two seperate beats could no longer be heard...unless one was listening for the the faint thudding of the precious little baby they had created all out of love from deep within.

It was only for this reason she broke their embrace. She couldn't wait to tell him. As she stared up into his wondering eyes she felt herself grow dizzy at first, and then weak in the knees, and then everything went black.

EJ watched with dismay as her eyes rolled into the back of her head before closing on him all together and her body went limp in his arms.

"Nicole!" His voice was shaky, panicked. The fear began to instensify when she was unresponsive to the call of her name. He carefully lowered her to the ground with him and pulled her head onto his lap as he screamed for help. [i]My god, she is really sick.[/i] It seemed so impossible but there was undeniably something very wrong. "Nikki, sweetheart, please, wake up. Darling!"

Her skin was so cold but she was breathing. A quick check of her pulse found it to be a bit weak, but it was there, and steady. Still, there was no sign she was awakening.

He waited helplessly for the paramedics to arrive but in the six and a half minutes it took for help to arrive, he told her and the crowd of curious onlookers how much he loved her in the event that this opportunity might be his last.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

December 24, 2011 Around 1:30 PM O'Hare International Airport, Chicago

"Does your wife suffer from any chronic illnesses, sir?"

EJ could hardly breathe, nevermind find the strength to speak, as one of the two paramedics who came to their aid began to grill him on Nicole's medical history while the other focused her attention on attempting to awaken her. Almost as soon as he shook his head to the negative he began to retract his statement. He felt like the worst husband in the world when all he could say was, "I don't know." Thankfully, the younger man was apparently used to dealing with clueless husbands like himself and didn't appear to pass judgment as he continued his questioning using more idiot-friendly methods of extracting information. "Does she have diabetes, a heart condition, anything like that?"

"I don't know. She went to the hospital today because she had been feeling very ill but I don't know what her diagnosis was. I barely got a chance to talk to her before she passed out."

And she was still unconscious. It had to be going on close to ten minutes now since she'd collapsed into his arms and still there were no signs of her awakening. His heart was pounding so persistently with fear from within he was sure at any moment it would come bursting through the walls of his chest. This disaster was suddenly and narrowly diverted by the sound of Nicole moaning softly as she slowly began to drift back into consciousness.

Even with this new development, the one medic still pushed for more details. He couldn't focus on that now. Nicole was coming to and she needed him. She needed to know that he was right there by her side and that he had never left, and everything was going to be all right.

The envelope. He had not dared to look into it himself, wanting to honor Nicole's wishes on sharing whatever news was contained within. Whatever it was couldn't wait any longer. He simply handed the envelope containing her discharge papers to the medic so he could finally stop pestering him with questions he did not have the answers to and he could concentrate on Nicole. Her eyes were now finally fluttering open but she was still quite dazed and confused. His fingers delicately brushed the hair from her face as he spoke to her softly, soothingly, until recognition flooded back into her eyes and she smiled up at him.

"Is she, or is there any chance she could be pregnant," the female medic, who had been the one to awaken Nicole asked, directing the question to EJ alone in an almost whisper. It was the only question he felt he could answer confidently.

"No. She is not pregnant," EJ replied curtly to the woman who now all of a sudden felt the need to take over the questioning department. Nicole could be dying for all he knew and all they could think to ask was if she was pregnant?

"No, wait, yes," Nicole said weakly as she tugged EJ's arm, directing his attention back toward her. "Yes. Yes!"

His fingertips continued to lovingly stroke her face as he spoke to her. "Yes what, sweetheart, hmmm?"

"Yes, I'm pregnant!"

Her smile as she told him this "news" was so brilliant that the thought of having to correct her made him feel sick to his stomach. She looked so happy but she was obviously still incredibly disoriented. [i]Oh god, maybe it's a brain tumor.[/i] That would surely explain both the passing out and her delusions. He wanted to cry. How he wished it could be such wonderful news but he knew as well as Nicole, when she finally came to her senses at least, that it was an impossibility.

He kissed her forehead soothingly and encouraged her to remain calm. "Shhh, sweetheart, you're still very confused. Just try to relax."

"I'm not confused, EJ, I'm pregnant." Her eyes sparkled with tears of joy as she grasped a hold of his hand and squeezed it tightly. "I'm pregnant!"

EJ's heart was breaking. How could he look back into those bright, hopeful eyes and tell her she was wrong, that it was only something her brain had conjured up in a moment of deliriousness? He didn't realize he was just about to be let off the hook.

"Yup, she's pregnant. Congrats, dad."

EJ looked down at Nicole's discharge papers that the medic passed onto him along with a pat to his back before turning his full focus back to checking Nicole's vitals. There it all was, in black and white. She was pregnant. Twelve weeks. DOC: 09/26/11. She wasn't dying, on the contrary. She was literally full of life; hers, his, and the precious little life growing within made out of nothing but pure love.

The firm squeeze from her hand around his lifted him from his shock-induced daze. She was smiling so happily and he realized for the first time in a long time, so was he.

"I was coming home to tell you. I couldn't wait."

His brief state of blissfulness was suddenly cut short when his brain finally started to function properly once more. She had passed out which meant that there was something wrong. [i]Oh god, no! Not the baby![/i]

"What's wrong with her? Is the baby ok?"

"Well, unless she's in pain there's no reason for us to assume there is a problem with the baby. Are you experiencing any pain or discomfort, Nicole?"

"No, I'm fine, really," she replied, directing her answer more to EJ than the woman addressing her. He looked so frightened. She wished she could pass on the same, euphoric feeling she had that everything was going to be just fine to him. "I think I was just a little emotional...and probably a little hungry too since I haven't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon."

"What? Sweetheart, you're eating for two! You need nourishment!" She watched with amusement as EJ turned his attention to the medics. He was hysterical, demanding, and absolutely adorable, Nicole thought as she watched him begin to bark orders instructing the trained medical professionals how to do their job.

"She needs an IV, food! She needs to be taken to the hospital!"

"I actually wouldn't advise that at the moment," the male medic said nodding in the direction of the large, plate-glass windows which once offered a view to the runways and planes parked outside. It was like staring at a blank screen in the cinema from back in the day before they started bombarding you with commercials before showtime. It was nothing but pure white. "Nicole's vitals are fine, she's not in any pain, and she's coherent. I think our best option right now is to get her to a secluded area here at the airport where she can rest for a bit while we set her up on an IV and get her to eat a bite. We can't risk a trip to the hospital in these conditions unless her condition is life-threatening."

"Honey, he's right," Nicole said, grabbing a hold of him by his tie before he had a chance to fly off the handle. "I'm fine, the baby is fine, I know it." She grabbed a hold of his hand again and guided it to her stomach, cupping both of her hands over-top his as she encourged him to bear down and feel the firmness of her tiny little pot belly. "It's too dangerous out there. I don't want any of us getting hurt. We are going to be just fine."

Nicole was still lying on the ground with her head resting in EJ's lap. He looked down at his beautiful wife, her eyes and face all aglow, in complete awe. She had to be scared, nervous at the very least. She was pregnant and they both knew very well what a delicate situation that was but she was being so incredibly brave. It shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise. She always had been the stronger of the two. No matter what came her way, Nicole was always able to hold her head high and carry on. She would fight tooth and nail and sacrifice everything to protect the ones that she loved, just as she was doing right now. He couldn't imagine how he'd claimed to love others before, it was impossible. He'd no clue as to the true meaning of the word until she came into his life.

The medics then began to help her to her feet, with EJ's assistance, and onto a gurney so that she could be transported to a less active area where she could be treated and rest quietly until they were given the OK to leave. They parked her in a corner and set up a portable screen for privacy and the male medic started her on an IV for hydration while the woman had left to find her something to eat.

It had been killing EJ to refrain from touching her while she was being treated. He'd wanted to just scoop her into his arms and hold her but he knew it wasn't wise to come between her and necessary medical attention however, with the IV now in place and the medics all gone, there was nothing left standing between them. He abandoned the chair they'd pulled in for him and climbed onto the gurney next to her and completely enveleped her in his arms. His mouth nuzzled it's way to her ear through her hair where he whispered, "I love you so much." He planted little kisses all about her head as he pulled her close and rocked her in his arms.

"I love you too," she said dreamily as she allowed her exhausted body to just go limp in his arms. It had been a long time since she'd felt at peace enough to just relax as he promised he would never be such a fool again and vowed to remain a devoted, faithful husband until the day he died. He would go above and beyond to see that she and the baby got nothing but the best medical attention there was and he would forever do anything and everything to protect her and their family. It was the greatest fairytale she'd ever been told and Within a mere two minutes, she'd fallen asleep in his arms, never before feeling so safe and secure, content, and, above all, loved. 


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Christmas Day, 2011 Chicago

Nicole's eyes fluttered open to find herself once again in an empty bed. For one, horrifying minute she considered it had all been a dream. Maybe EJ had never come to Chicago to declare his undying love for her, and, worst yet...maybe there was no baby. However, once the typical post-awakening fog began to lift and her eyes performed a throrough examination of her surroundings and her other senses became fully aware, she knew that she had not imagined a thing.

She was still in the hotel. They had both got quite a laugh out of the only accomodation that was available to them: a small room with two double beds at a Quality Inn. Just so one bed wouldn't go ignored, they had made love on both of them last night. His scent was still all over her, on his side of the bed. She could still feel his presence so strongly, as if he were still inside the room but...he wasn't.

An inner voice began chirping away with all sorts of paranoid thoughts and warnings but Nicole couldn't identify the source. For what was probably the first time in her life, she wasn't worried. Wherever EJ had gone to, he would be back. He always came back.

"What is your daddy up to, hmm" she said hugging her stomach with a dreamy smile. Maybe it was all in her head but since the moment she learned she was pregnant, she swore she could feel the life growing inside her. "Hmmm, maybe your sister Lady knows."

The little pup sprang from her set in the corner of the armchair and hopped over on the bed from the mere mention of her name. Nicole was just about to begin grilling her dog on EJ's whereabouts when he suddenly reappeared in the room wearing blue jeans and a black tee. His face lit up the moment their eyes met. She was sure hers looked just about the same.

"Good morning," he said sliding next to her on the edge of the bed, his arms instinctively wrapping themselves around her body as he pulled her in for a kiss. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

"Merry Christmas," she replied hastily, eager to resume kissing her husband for at least the next hour or so. She couldn't help but pout when he began to pull away after only a few minutes.

"What's that look for, hmmm?" He knew very well she was craving affection and there would be plenty of that in store for later. Especially after he sprang his surprise upon her.

"Well, I just thought since it's Christmas and we're snowed in together that you'd let me start unwrapping my gift."

As tempting as the suggestion was, he found himself wrestling her hand away from his belt buckle. "You'll have to save that one for last. I want you to open your other gifts first."

"Other gifts," she asked looking up at him with raised eyebrows. "weren't you just apologizing to me yesterday for not having any? Besides, I already told you you've given me everything I could possibly want."

"That won't stop me from finding new ways to make you smile and I think I found a few this morning so, you'll need to get dressed so I can show them to you."

Nicole squealed with delight as EJ pulled her to her feet and began to rummage through her small suitcase, grabbing the first top and bottom he could find and offering them to her.

"Honey, I appreciate your assistance but that top really doesn't go with that skirt."

"Just throw them on darling. Once we get to where we're going, you won't be wearing them for long."

Nicole took a moment to peek out the window. "I can't imagine where we would be going. The cars are half-buried in the parking lot. There must be over two feet of snow out there!"

"Twenty-nine inches to be exact. We're lucky to still have power, which is why you need to get a move on and get dressed, missy or you'll spoil part of the surprise."

"OK, alright, jeez," she said with feigned annoyance as she slid into her mismatched outfit. Truth be told she could hardly wait to see what surprises lay in store. While she dressed EJ began to repack their bags.

"OK, I'm ready. Now where are we going?"

"You'll want to bring Lady." That was his only response. He waited patiently while she rounded the dog up into her arms.

They walked arm in arm down the hall of the hotel, both smiling like two giddy teens on a first date. When the reached the elevator, Nicole was puzzled when EJ pushed the 'up' arrow instead of the 'down' button which would bring them to the lobby. Once the doors slid open, they both stepped inside and took the short trip from the second to third and highest floor. He guided her to the end of the hall and stopped before the last door on the right. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a door key which he handed to her with a smile. "For my first surprise, I give to you an upgrade. We now have one king-sized bed, a jacuzzi, and all of the premium channels on the tv that we're not going to watch."

Nicole laughed heartily as she slid the key in the slot and swung the door open. When she finally caught a glimpse of the room decor, she gasped with delight. The king sized bed, jacuzzi and tv were all there, as promised. In addition, there was a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with multi-colored lights and three gift-wrapped boxes laying underneath. The small table was full of assorted breakfast items and a pot of freshly-brewed coffee awaited them.

"EJ, how in the world-" Nicole began, shaking her head with wonderment as she took in the scene.

"Darling, I've learned over the years that you can buy an awful lot of things for a hundred bucks. Recently added to that list is a hotel room upgrade and use of the lobby's Christmas tree. Unfortunately it will not buy you delivery of decent food in the midst of a blizzard so some low-grade coffee, orange juice from concentrate, instant oatmeal, and poor excuses for doughnuts and croissants will have to do."

"This is amazing," she said as she stood before the tree, admiring the beautiful white and gold trimmings featuring angels and assorted brass instruments. Her eyes couldn't help but wander and notice the gifts under the tree. The tags on all three were clearly visible and all labeled with her name.

EJ kneeled before her next to the tree and pulled one of the medium-sized boxes from underneath and handed it to her. "Go, on. Open it."

She took the light-as-air box from his hands and shook it. There seemed to be nothing inside. She laughed when she tore open the paper to find a used postal priority mail box inside. When she looked up at EJ with a quizzical expression, he prompted her to keep digging with a nod.

She opened the flaps and reached in to grab the box's only contents. A small piece of note paper with some information scribbled on it in EJ's handwriting. At the top was the name of a doctor, follwed by an address in Chicago and telephone number. Underneath was a date and time, December 27th, 8 AM. EJ was already talking before she could ask for an explanation.

"I spent the morning making some phone calls. I know it's Christmas day and people are busy spending time with their families but, I want you to know that there is nothing on this earth more important to me than you and our baby. I called every doctor I know and trust and they all concurred that this doctor is the best in the entire world. I got her on the phone this morning and she agreed to see us as soon as possible. We figured it might take a few days before we're able to travel so that's why we went with the twenty-seventh however, if the roads are clear she said she would see us sooner. I will do everything in my power to see that you and our baby get the best possible medical treatment there is."

"I know you will," she said, smiling through tear-filled eyes. "I can't wait. I have such a good feeling about this baby. I think things are going to be different this time."

EJ nodded in agreement. Personally, he was terrified for the well-being of their unborn child but raising any such fears was not going to do Nicole or himself any good. Her statement however couldn't be any more true regarding their relationship in general. His next gift was another step in that direction. "I couldn't agree more. Change is good, as you will see with gift number two."

Nicole tore the wrapping off the next box, this one a plain brown shipping box, and found a rolled up piece of glossy printed paper, which appeared to have been torn from a magazine, secured with a ribbon. When she removed the bow and unrolled the paper, she found the image of a beautiful, sprawling riverfront mansion.

"It's not the exact one of course, but we'll have one something like it to call our own. The only persons who will govern this family from now on are you and I. I want us to have a home of our own. What do you think?"

"Yes, Yes! I will love that!"

Happy tears. It was the only kind he wanted to see from now on. Time for box number three.

She sobbed with nothing but joy as she tugged at the ribbon on the final box. Inside the box which once held 1000 rubber bands, she found another piece of paper, this one cut into the shape of a heart. In the middle were two letters, 'EJ."

"That heart was mine. Now, it's forever yours. I'm entrusting it to you because there is no one else in this world who is fit to care for it. It only thrives when it's in your presence so that's where it shall remain."

Nicole threw herself into his arms, once again allowing herself the premature notion that life couldn't possibly get better than it was that very moment. It would take only another two days until a new event topped the ultimate Christmas day surprise.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

December 27, 2011 Around 8:30 AM Chicago

"Alright, well before I start going over Nicole's records with the two of you, can I get either one of you anything? Coffee, water? Vodka?"

"Dr. Kasner, please," EJ said shifting nervously in his chair next to Nicole. "Please, just tell us our baby is going to be all right."

Nicole reached over and grabbed his hand. It was cold and clammy and unsteady. He'd been so nervous this morning that he had barely even spoken to her; a tell-tale sign that he was full of worry. Perhaps she should be too. After all, she was flat-out told that she would never be able to carry a baby to term, so why should she believe that somehow that had changed? There simply was no logic to be applied to her blissful optimism except to entertain the possibility that miracles do happen and angels exist. Not an easy task for someone who was a damn near atheist.

Dr. Kasner managed a polite smile then sank into the back of her chair, crossing her fingers on her lap. "I wish I could do that but I can't make any parent that promise. There is some degree of risk in every pregnancy. As for Nicole, after reviewing her records, I'll be straight with you. I see a lot of areas for concern."

"Are you saying-"

Dr. Kasner interrupted EJ as politely as possible. "No. Please, don't misinterpret that as a diagnosis. Every pregnancy is unique. The only way for me to know what we're dealing with here is for us to take a peek inside. Are you ready for your first ultrasound?"

"And with this you'll be able to tell whether or not our baby is going to make it?" He felt Nicole's hand tigtening around his once again.

"Mr. DiMera, like I said, I will never give anyone a definite yes, or no for that matter. What I can do is give you some very precise calculations of how far along Nicole can be expected to carry, and if it will be long enough for this baby to have a chance."

"And what if you think that he or she doesn't have a chance? What do we do then?"

"Don't answer that," Nicole chimed in, eager to interrupt EJ's intense inquisition. "Honey," she said tugging at his hand as she implored him to look her in the eye, "Let's not cross that bridge until we have to, ok? Why don't we let Dr. Kasner tell us what she sees and we'll go from there." She shot a desperate glance begging confirmation toward the Doc.

"That sounds like a plan to me. Let me take you to an exam room."

She led them a few doors down the hall and left them alone to prepare, promising to return in just a few minutes. It was Nicole she had instructed to hop up on the exam table but one look at EJ had Nicole easing him down onto the edge of the seat. He looked white as a ghost and about two seconds from passing out.

"Honey, whatever happens, it's going to be ok."

Her voice was so warm and soothing as she stroked his face, attempting to tame his fears. He reached up and captured her hand in his, drawing it to his lips for a kiss. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset. I just don't want you to worry until we know there is something to worry about."

"Nikki, I just want you to know...if it's bad, we can still have a family. We can look into finding a surrogate, we can adopt, we-"

Nicole quieted him the only foolproof way she knew how. She slid onto his lap and drew him in for a firm, unrelenting kiss. She didn't dare pull away until she felt every ounce of tenseness drain from his body. "Bridges, honey," she whispered the gentle reminder into his ear.

"I know. I'm sorry. So much for being the strong, supportive husband, eh?"

"You know, it's OK if you need to take a break from time to time. Let somebody else play the role. I got this one."

EJ gazed down at her adoringly. Even in the face of potentially devastating news, she was worried about [i]him[/i], focused on easing [i]his[/i] fears. He knew no one more deserving of being a mother. That's why this baby had to survive; was [i]going[/i] to survive. Nicole and a little baby to raise and nurture was a match made in heaven. For the first time since learning she was pregnant again, he began to think optimisitically.

"Well folks, are we ready?"

"As soon as my husband gets his big butt off the exam table, yes!" Nicole playfully elbowed EJ in the ribs but it didn't take much prodding to get him to move. He could hardly wait to see the baby.

"All right. Let's get your top pulled up here, Nicole and then we'll watch some baby TV."

Nicole shrieked as the doc squeezed a good-sized mound of ultrasound gel on top of her stomach, although it wasn't at all cold as she suspected it would be. She was more excited than anything and was happy to see EJ smiling as well. When the doctor flicked the switch to activate the monitor, after just the few seconds it took for their brains to register what they were seeing, their gleeful smiles turned into open-mouthed stares of disbelief.

"Well, well, well, what have we here," Dr. Kasner finally spoke with bubbly enthusiasm. "I was wondering for a second how I kept coming up with twenty fingers. Say hello to your twins, Mom and Dad."

"Twins! Sweetheart, we're having twins!" EJ could hardly believe his eyes. There were two tiny little babies with two fully-functioning little hearts. It was amazing to think it was all happening just below the surface of Nicole's stomach. He glanced at her face. For the first time she looked panicked as she stared at her doctor who seemed to be intently focused on something she was looking at on-screen.

"What? What is it? What's wrong with my babies?"

"Nicole, I just need a few minutes here to-"

"No! Doc if you see something there, you've got to tell me now! Please!"

EJ wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be all right sweetheart. Doctor, answer my wife, don't leave us hanging. What do you see?"

"Actually, it's what I don't see that has me pleasantly surprised. I just wanted to be sure that my examination is thorough before I give you my prognosis."

"Which is?"

"Which is, I don't see anything here preventing Nicole from carrying these babies to term."

"Are you serious?" Nicole's eyes were suddenly wide and once again full of hope.

"Nicole, I wouldn't dare to tell you that if it wasn't true."

"But...he told me, Dr. Baker, the scar tissue..." Nicole was too confused to complete her sentence.

"Well yes, the scar tissue was my biggest concern. I viewed your ultrasounds from your last pregnancy over and over again this morning. What I saw there, if that is what I saw now, I'd tell you you probably wouldn't make it twenty-four weeks. It's baffling to me that your obstetrician then never told you."

"OK, so why now are you telling me I'm good to go for nine months?"

"Because it's gone, the majority of it anyway. Please don't think I'm being insensitive to the loss of your child, but your first pregnancy is what made this all possible. That scar tissue just kept building up in your uterus all those years, and much of it is unnecessary, yet it can keep generating. Without anything to cause a disturbance, it just keeps doing it's thing. Think of it like a pot of something cooking on the stove. If you let it sit there and simmer away, it'll start sticking to the sides of the pan, right? However, once you get in there and start stirring it, you start to loosen all that gunk stuck to the sides. When you are pregnant, your uterus stretches as the baby grows. All that stretching actually began to loosen a lot of that unneeded scar tissue. Problem was, without having a menstrual cycle there was nowehere for it to go so it stayed stored inside, and that is what caused you to give birth prematurely. With the baby gone, your body did what it was designed to do after giving birth. It began to prepare itself for your next one. I have to say, everything is looking great. They're the perfect size for twelve weeks, everything seems to be developing right on-time, and all of your bloodwork looks excellent. I'll get the prescriptions written for your vitamins and then I won't need to see you here for another whole month."

"So that's it? You're just telling us everything is fine and you're waving us on our merry way?" EJ couldn't smile any wider if he tried.

"Well, pretty much. I'm going to get you a few pics here to take home and show off to the fam, and I'm going to give you a due date of June eighteenth. Nicole, you can go on and get dressed and I'll be right back with that prescription."

As soon as the doctor left the room, Nicole flung herself into EJ's arms and squealed with excitement. "We're having twins! Oh god, we're having twins! I'm going to be a mommy!"

"Yes, you are," he said smiling dreamily as he kissed the top of her head. His hands immediately found their way to her stomach where he planted them lovingly for all three of the most special people in his life to feel. "You are going to be the best mommy in the whole wide world."

"God, I just want to run out into the street and shout it out to the world. I can't wait to tell Chloe and Brandon." Nicole could feel EJ's grip on her stomach intensify. When she looked up she could see the tension in his face. She could read him like a book. "Honey, we're going to have to tell him. You know as well as I do there's no such thing as keeping secrets from your father."

It was true. Any attempt to seperate Stefano DiMera from his grandchildren would only drive the man insane and force him to take extreme measures to keep them in his life. Wives and mothers of the children were just nuisances which he always attempted to cut out of the picture immediately, before they could become an interference. Not this time, not ever again.

The EJ DiMera who returned to Salem later that day walked through the doors of the DiMera mansion a new man, a man of authority and determination. A man who those who disobeyed him should fear. A man who Stefano DiMera would later be proud to call his son.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

December 27, 2011 Mid-Afternoon Salem

"Well, it's about time, my darling," Kate DiMera cooed from beneath the silky golden sheets of the bed she shared with her husband who looked upon her admiringly from the doorway of their bedroom. "I was hoping you would come looking for a little afternoon delight."

"As tempting as that sounds, my love, I'm afraid it will have to wait."

Kate wrinkled her nose in disgust and haughtily folded her arms across her chest. "What could possibly be more important than sepnding some quality time with your wife?"

"Elvis is on his way over."

"EJ? What did he say?" It was the first time either one of them had heard from him in weeks and the first time in three months that he actually invited himself over to the mansion. Ever since she and Stefano had successfully driven Nicole away, he refused to speak to his father about anything aside from business. The entire holiday season in the DiMera household had been a glum one for Stefano. Lexie's anger toward EJ for deciding to run for mayor was not directed at EJ alone. She blamed Stefano and herself for putting ideas into his head and so she had also been keeping her distance. His only child to come around had been Chad and although he was the only one who both Lexie and EJ would talk to, the kid's mouth was a steel trap. He refused to give even one iota of info to Stefano or herself.

"He said we need to talk."

"Well, that's wonderful darling. Sounds like your boy is finally coming to his senses."

"I don't know about that, Katerina. Do you want to know where my jet has been these last few days, hmmm?"

"Your jet?"

"Yes, my jet. It has been stuck at O'Hare International Airport."

"Chicago? Oh, god no."

"I'm afraid so, my darling."

Kate jumped about a foot off the bed from the sound of the front door slamming downstairs.

"Mommy? Daddy? I'm home!"

The voice that shouted the greeting was enough to make Kate pull a pillow over her ears and scream.

"It's me, your favorite daughter-in-law, Nicole!"

"Now, sweetheart, that's really not nice," EJ said as he grabbed Nicole from behind in the living room, wrapping one arm across her shoulders while his other hand planted itself protectively on her stomach. "They're very old and fragile, it's not good to scare them like that."

"Hey, I thought I was being considerate by giving them a warning. This way they have a shot at escaping out the back door before actually having to come face to face with me."

"That's my girl," EJ purred into her ear before planting a kiss on her cheek. "Always putting others before herself."

"Elvis. Nicole."

EJ and Nicole both glance over simultaneously to find Stefano and Kate standing in the doorway. Nicole couldn't resist the urge to pull out her phone and snap a picture. It would be the perfect pic to put in the twins' baby album. She chuckled as she thought of the caption, [i]...And here's your grandpa and grandma DiMera when they learned your daddy and I were back together.[/i]

Silence. Nicole looked over her shoulder nervously at EJ. His face was a deep shade of crimson; she could see the shifting in his jaw from his clenched teeth; his eyes were locked in an intense staring match with his father. Once again she felt his grip on her stomach intensify. She laid her hand atop of his and squeezed it tightly.

"Why don't we all just have a seat, hmmm?" Stefano gestured to the sofa, never blinking or breaking his gaze upon EJ once.

"That won't be necessary," EJ replied, carefully controlling his tone with every word. "We won't be staying. I really don't have much to say to you right now. If you want that to change however, you will do as I say."

"Elvis-"

"I am not done speaking, father. You have done enough of the talking for all of my life. Now, you're going to shut up and you're going to listen."

Surely it was too early, but Nicole could have sworn at that very moment she felt the slightest little movement from within her womb. Although they didn't yet know the sex of their babies, she imagined it was a little mini EJ giving a fist pump in support of his daddy.

"Nicole is still, and will always be, my wife. I love her. It wasn't until she came into my life that I realized what it was to really love another-"

"Elvis-"

"I am not done speaking!"

Nicole imagined billions of people, stretching halfway around the world looking up into the skies in fear, wondering where the furious voice was coming from. He screamed so loud it shook the floor beneath their feet.

"If you ever, EVER do anything to come between me and my family again-"

Stefano belted out a jovial chuckle. "Elvis, if I had a dime for every time you claimed I was 'dead to you-"

"Oh, you won't just be dead to me, old man. You'll be dead to the world. You always taught me to never allow any man to come between me and my family and to take whatever means necessary to prevent it from happening. You never said fathers were an exception and I promise you, you're not."

EJ paused briefly, intentionally challenging his father to speak. For what was probably the first time in his life, EJ began to believe his father was taking him seriously. Time to really drive his point home. "Nicole is pregnant. She's due in June. We're having twins."

Stefano's eyes widened with renewed interest. Already EJ could tell he was silently plotting his next move.

"You know, there is nothing I'd like to do more than just pack up and move us all to a deserted island, far away from you and your twisted ways and ideas about family and love but, what good would that do? I'm no fool, father. I know you would never let anything stand between you and your precious blood. You'd find us and you'd not only take our children away from Nicole, you'd keep them from me just as well if you believed they weren't being raised in proper DiMera fashion. Well, don't worry, I won't keep you from them. You will be welcome to visit with your grandchildren whenever you like."

"Well, how magnanimous of you, Elvis. What's the catch?"

"It's up to you to decide what kind of a relationship you want to have with our children. Do you want to be their beloved Nonno whom they can't wait to go and visit, or would you rather I tell them what you're really like, thell them of the extremes you went to, to keep their mother and I apart, so they grow up to loathe you even more than a Brady does. I know it's a tough decision, but you have six months to think about it." He now turned his full attention back to Nicole. "Come on sweetheart, I'm sure you'd like to go home and rest. There's nothing I'd love to do more than spend the rest of the day pampering my beautiful wife."

"mmmm that sounds lovely but aren't you forgetting something?"

EJ smiled at her wickedly. There wasn't anything he had forgotten. It was all just a perfectly rehearsed part of the plan. "Oh, of course, darling. I've done enough talking for now, why don't you tell them."

Nicole turned her attention back to Stefano and Kate, flashing them a brilliantly exaggerated smile. "I hope y'all don't have plans on New Year's Eve! EJ and I would be over-the-moon of you would be our guests of honor at our vow renewal ceremony! Don't make us have to explain to these precious little ones why Nonno and Grandma Kate weren't there." She blem them both kisses as she scurried toward the front door propped open waiting for her by EJ.

"Eleven O'clock PM in the town square," further informed them with a wink. "Don't be late."

"Well, sweetheart, until I find us that mansion on the river, this will have to do," EJ said grinning down at Nicole adoringly who was completely scooped up in his arms off the ground to be carried over the threshold of her temporary new home. Lady could be heard impatiently scratching at the walls of the pet carrier at their feet.

"I already told you, silly goose. I don't care where I am as long as I'm with you."

She barely finished her sentence before his lips were feverishly upon hers. He could hardly wait to get her inside and make love to her. Although he imagined their lovemaking sessions while snowbound in the hotel were of record-breaking numbers, he'd found himself precautiously holding back some of his passion for fear of accidentally hurting the baby somehow. After being assured by the Doctor that there was no need for such delicate handling, he could think of little else during the day except the many ways he would ravage her later on. Nicole had not helped matters any. On the flight back home she texted him a topless picture of herself she took while in the bathroom. In the car on their way home just now, he'd had to wrap a sweater around his waist on the way into the building to conceal his excitement from the general public. She loved to put him in such predicaments.

He blindly fiddled with the key to the front door with the arm holding her legs up, never removing his lips from hers for a second. She'd already managed to undo every button on his shirt. They were both feeling the excitement from being just minutes away from fulfillment. They both moaned in relief when they heard the click of the lock. EJ turned the handled and kicked open the door with his foot with such force that later on they would find the knob had left a decent imprint on the wall. They weren't more than a foot inside the door when they received the shock that sent them both jumping from their skins.

"Surprise!"

EJ and Nicole shot each other a brief, 'you've got to be kidding me' look before it faded to reluctant but happy grins. Standing before them with huge, welcoming smiles were Chad and Melanie. In Chad's arms, little Winston, complete with a pointy party hat, panted excitedly at the sight of his owner. Hanging above them from the ceiling was a banner reading, 'Welcome Home, Nicole.'

"Chad! Good to see you as always," EJ exclaimed with far too much sarcasm in his tone to be genuine although Nicole could tell by the look on his face that he really was glad to see his brother. It was simply a case of poor timing. EJ pouted as he lowered Nicole to her feet.

Nicole couldn't help but feel all fuzzy inside from the warm welcome. She approached Chad and gave him a hug. "Thank you for this, sweetie. It's good to be home."

"I just wanted you to know that there is at least one person in EJ's life who is happy that you're a part of it, and who sees how happy you make each other."

"On the same token, it's nice to know EJ has a family member who truly cares about his happiness. I'm glad you two have each other."

"You know, sweetheart, if I didn't know any better I'd say my brother has a thing for you," EJ said with a wink as he wrapped his arms around her possessively.

"Maybe," Chad said with an amused chuckle. "What makes you think I might not."

"Because I'd kill you, you little bastard." It took a DiMera to know that he was kidding, at least about the being suspicious part. It also took a DiMera to know that if it had been for real, the threat would be very genuine. It was Melanie's panicked look that caused them all to burst into fits of laughter.

"Alright, seriously now," Chad said, finally regaining his composure as he grabbed a bottle of champagne and popped the cork, immediately filling four glasses with the bubbly stuff. "Nicole, welcome home. I wish you and my bro here all the happiness in the world, til death do you part and all that good stuff." With that he handed each one of them a glass of champagne and then tipped his own glass. "Cheers."

When EJ and Nicole both refrained from taking a sip, Melanie punched Chad in the arm and started performing a victory dance of some sort. "Ah-ha! I win! See, I told ya!"

Chad threw his hands up in defeat. Nicole and EJ just stared at each other with puzzled faces.

"I guess congrats are in order? So when were y'all going to tell me I'm going to be an uncle?"

EJ and Nicole gasped in unison. EJ was the first to finally speak. "Well, you could have given us the chance to tell you. How did you know?"

"Genius over here didn't know an obstetrician is a baby doctor. He thought Nicole had something wrong with her eyes."

"I know an obstetrician is a baby doctor, thank you very much. I thought Carlo said opthamologist."

"He lies," Melanie said to EJ and Nicole, pointing at the accused.

"You talked to Carlo? What were you, spying on me, you little prick?"

Nicole began to laugh heartily as EJ grabbed Chad in a headlock with intent only on messing up his perfectly groomed hair. "Get used to it, kiddos," she said as she lovinly rubbed her ever-so-slight baby bump. "It's all a part of belonging to this wacky, wonderful family."

"You ought to be nice to me, you know," Chad said, finally wrestling himself free of his brother's grip. "I have dirt on you."

"What are you talking about," EJ replied, intrigued by the sudden change in Chad's demeanor. There was a seriousness about him that was all new to him.

"Come with me and I'll show you."

Nicole glanced at Melanie for some sort of explanation when the two went trotting off from the room. Melanie could only shrug her shoulders in ignorance.

"What the hell do you mean you have 'dirt' on me? Are you trying to blackmail your own brother?"

"Not yet," Chad said, flashing him a devilish smile as he flipped open the hatch of his Blazer. From a plastic tote inside he retrieved two FedEx envelopes. EJ didn't wait for an explanation. He snatched the envelopes from Chad's hands before he could explain.

Chad just chuckled. "Merry Christmas, bro. For your gift, I stopped you from making the biggest mistake of your life, just in case you decided you weren't going to. I've gotten to know some of the guys pretty well. Marco, Carlo, Ralph, Dave...I told them to make sure you don't do anything stupid. Thanks to all your babbling about sending Nicole the divorce papers when you were in the car, Dave called me and let me know what was going on. I had him go back to the office and stop the letter from being mailed before it was too late."

"You little DiMera, you. What's in the other letter?"

"The first set of divorce papers Nicole sent you. I knew if you got those right away it would have destroyed you. I wasn't going to let you give up so easily."

"Alright, so what are my conditions. What do you intend to do with this information."

"I'll just use them to remind you that you are forever in debt to me for the rest of your life so if your little bro needs a favor or two, you'll be more than happy to oblige, right?"

"Am I to assume that you are in need of such a favor at present?"

"Well, there is maybe one thing."

"Ha! I knew it. Alright, out with it. What is it you want?"

Chad grinned wickedly. "What do you know about dealing with disapproving fathers?"

"Ah, I see. Well, you know there have been some tragic freak-accidents with tanning beds."

"Oh, Chad said looking a bit confused. "Actually, I was referring to our father."

"Ah, I stand corrected, well...all I can say Chad is stand your ground. Make it clear where he stands in your life."

"Easier said than done, my man. It's not easy to stand up to Stefano DiMera."

"It's not something you can learn to do, it's instinct. One day you'll meet her. The one you love, the one you can't bear the thought of living without. The one that's worth fighting for. Until then, you're putty in his hands. You'll see what I mean."

The End

Thank you to all who have read this story all the way through. There is a sequel to follow titled, "Being Mrs. DiMera." Hope you will all continue to follow EJole on their adventures :)


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